


You Are Important

by MuseofDeduction



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Family, Gen, I swear, If a teenager was travelling in the TARDIS, Kind of a slow burn, but also keeps way too many secrets, half of the problems could be fixed with proper communication, i guess, still not used to tagging stuff, the Doctor is pretty protective
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-02-28 12:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 90,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2732777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuseofDeduction/pseuds/MuseofDeduction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor made the mistake of wanting to go somewhere; the TARDIS soon corrected that. His ship landed him on a bridge, just as a girl was about to jump. He managed to talk her out of it and waltzed away with a job well done, only to find that another plan was in place. One that involved meeting the teen once again.</p><p>Now that Charlie has become a companion, she is whisked away to see wonderful places and meet wonderful people. But while she's enjoying the ride, the Doctor has his suspicions about the girl. Meanwhile, someone else is pulling the strings, watching as their revenge is coming together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello! Anyways, this is my first attempt at writing a Doctor Who fanfic so please bear with me. Reviews are awesome, follows and favourites are great. I’ll hopefully be updating at least once a week or every couple days. Reviews help me to write faster. Also, I wrote this a year and a half ago, so please keep that in mind. Thanks.  
> Disclaimer: I most definitely do not own Doctor Who, no matter how many times I wished I did.

The Doctor was by himself, reading near the console of the TARDIS. Amy and Rory were asleep – at least he _thought_ they were asleep; he really didn’t want to know anything else – so he was left to his thoughts. He _could_ wake them up if he wanted to, but the last time ended with Amy chasing him around the ship with a heeled shoe as a weapon. Definitely not fun.

It was later that night – or what the TARDIS made to look like night – that he began to tinker with the ship. At exactly 10:54 pm, the TARDIS did something strange.

She landed herself.

The Doctor bolted up to the console to attempt to stop the landing, but failed. She had already landed.

“What’re you doing old girl?” He asked no one in particular before checking the controls. Everything seemed to be in order. “Well then, that was odd,” He said to himself. “Now, where have you brought me this time?”

He checked the monitor and the readings to find that he was in England once again. Double-checking the date, he let out a breath of relief when he saw that it was the sixteenth of June, 2010. Knitting his eyebrows in confusion, he couldn’t figure out why his ship had brought him here. He was about to take off again before something caught his eye on the monitor.

Someone was sitting on the bridge they were parked on. The figure stood up.

They were going to jump.

Now, the Doctor wasn’t able to figure out what had compelled him to act. Maybe it was the fact that he had seen too many people die. Or that he didn’t want someone to make a rash decision. Or that he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t try.

He flung open the TARDIS doors and ran out. “Stop! Don’t jump!”

The figure turned around and took the Doctor by surprise for a moment. The person he had mistaken to be at least in their twenties was just a girl, fifteen years old at the most. Her blonde hair was open, grey eyes hidden behind black, rectangular glasses. Her eyeliner was running, which suggested that she had been crying. She just stared at him, as if waiting for an answer.

For once, the madman with a box didn’t have one.

* * *

Charlotte walked through the streets after work, having missed the bus. She flipped the hood of her jacket up to cover her blonde curls and pushed her glasses up her nose. Checking the time on the phone her grandparents gave her, she saw it was 10:45 pm.

“Just my luck,” She mumbled, not angry, but tired. She also noticed multiple texts from her mother. All of them were along the same lines; where are you, where’s supper, your father had a bad day, hurry up, and that she was locking the door at 10:50. If she wasn’t there in time, she’d have to find somewhere else to sleep.

Charlotte sat down on a bench, exhausted. Her leg still didn’t heal completely and her shift wasn’t an easy one. There was no way she could make it back home in five minutes. She looked around a bit, looking at the cars driving by and the faint light of the stars. It wouldn’t be too bad if she just slept here and stopped by a friend’s place to freshen up before school. Well, Isabelle’s place; there wasn’t really anywhere else she could go.

But sleeping on the bench wasn’t an option, so she managed to get up and keep walking. Charlotte let her mind drift back to the past couple days as gravel crunched under her feet.

_“Charlotte Jackson! Come here right now! What have I told you about when I get home? Can’t bother to cook supper anymore, can you? I believe you need to be taught a lesson!”_

She cringed at the memory. The bruises were still bright purple against the pale skin of her arm. Charlotte was careful though; she made sure no one ever saw the aftermath of her punishments. That would only lead to people failing in their attempt to help and harsher punishments for her.

_“Don’t bother to come home until you apologize for what you’ve said! God knows what I did in a past life to have such a burden like you now! It would have been my good fortune if you had died! At least we would both be happy!”_

All she had suggested was that she stop drinking and find a job. Or at least clean up a bit. What was so wrong about that? But she was probably right; Charlotte was only bothering her again, being a burden to the person who had given birth to her. She had no place to speak. At least Isabelle’s parents had been out for the weekend, so she could stay there without any awkward questions.

But did her Mum have a point?

_“Look who’s here girls. The mute girl! Or is it four eyes? Can you even speak?” There was a small outbreak of laughter. “Tell me Charlotte, why do you even bother showing up anymore? No one would really miss you.” A shove sends her tray crashing to the floor – spilling some of the contents on the snobby girl in front of her._

_“It’s not my fault your mother is a whore and your father spends all his time away from you because he can’t stand your existence – a reminder of an affair. Now which parent had it, no one’s sure. I’m guessing one each, since your brother shares the same fate,” Charlotte replied coldly, meeting the girl’s gaze with her grey eyes.”Does that answer your question if I can speak?”_

_A shriek of fury from the other girl and ten minutes later Charlotte is on the ground, nose bleeding and glasses cracked. Isabelle finally came into the cafeteria and helped her up, handing her glasses to her._

_“Just kill yourself you freak!”_

Those thoughts kept running through her head as she walked on the bridge – a shortcut that would shave off at least ten minutes of her walk. Would it really be better if she just died? She looked over the edge. _‘It’s high enough,’_ she mused to herself.

10:54 pm she was just sitting there, steeling herself for a very big shortcut; the shortcut of _life._

10:55 pm she was standing, ready to jump.

10:56 pm, a voice was shouting for her to stop, for her to not jump. She turned around and met the strangest man she would probably every meet. His floppy brown air was probably the most normal thing about him. He was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, with red braces and a red bowtie to top it all off. There was a strange object in his pocket, but she could barely see it.

* * *

 

The two continued to look at each other for a moment before Charlotte turned around again.

“Stop, please. Don’t jump,” The Doctor pleaded. “You shouldn’t do this.”

“And why shouldn’t I?” Charlotte asked, turning around. She would have lost her balance if the Doctor didn’t grab her arm and yank her away from the edge. He looked her directly in the eye and she could tell now that they were green.

“Because you’re you. And your life is very important,” He replied. She stepped away from him and laughed slightly.

“To who? No one will miss me, I just ruin everything. I’m nothing special, just a freak,” Charlotte replied, hugging her arms. The Doctor just watched her for a moment.

“That makes two of us then,” He smiled. “All the best people are the ones people call freaks. It’s because they don’t understand us.”

“And who are you exactly?” Charlotte asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice. She watched as he straightened his bowtie.

“I’m the Doctor. And you are?”

“Doctor?” Charlotte asked, eyebrow raised. All thoughts of jumping off the bridge had vanished from her mind. “What kind of name is Doctor? I’m Charlie.”

“It’s an amazing name,” He defended. “What kind of name is Charlie?”

Charlotte didn’t know when she began smiling, let alone when she began laughing. “Charlie is short for Charlotte. Charlotte Jackson. I like it better.”

“Well then Charlie which is short for Charlotte, have I changed your mind?”The Doctor asked, hoping that the answer was yes. He would hate to discover later that she had gone through with it as soon as he left. She was quiet for the longest time, a hollow smile on her face.

“Goodbye Doctor,” She said simply before turning around and jogging down the rest of the bridge, catching a bus that would take her close enough to home.

The Doctor watched until she had gotten on the bus before walking back into the TARDIS. He couldn’t help himself as a smile crept onto his face as he patted the console.

“So that’s why you brought me here old girl. To save Miss Charlotte Jackson. Why it was her, I don’t really care,” He rambled on to himself. “Save one girl from a terrible mistake, of course she’s important. Everyone is. Now, let’s get going before Amy and Rory wake up, shall we?”

The Timelord waltzed around the console, flipping switches and humming to himself. Maybe the couple would like to see a new galaxy in the future. Or maybe Paris while the Eiffel Tower was being constructed.

But, as always, the TARDIS had different plans.

When the Doctor did throw open the doors later on with his companions by his side, he wasn’t in Paris, or on another planet, or even another time.

Instead he was parked on the far end of a school field just as students started entering the building.

“Doctor, what’s going on?” Amy asked, confused.

“I’m not quite sure, but I’m sure the TARDIS did this,” He replied before whipping out his sonic screwdriver.

“Is something wrong?” Rory asked, watching the Timelord.

“Possibly. Maybe. I don’t know, but I’m going to go check it out. Go on a date you two,” He called before running off towards the school. As he walked into the front office, he noticed a girl at her locker and a smile crept onto his face.

“Charlotte Jackson,” He whispered. “Funny seeing you here.”


	2. Chapter 2

The day was stretching out for months. Not really, but it felt like it to Charlotte.

To put it simply, she was exhausted. She had almost fallen asleep in Maths already and _did_ fall asleep in the library when she was supposed to be doing research for a project on the computer. She would rather do _anything_ than be stuck at school for a moment longer.

And it was only fourth period.

Nothing was different from any other day. A part of her wished that one day, even just for a measly twenty-four hours, she would wake up and everything would be different. Her mum would have a job and love her again; her father would drive her to school or ask how her day was. Everyone at school would just mind their own business and let her walk down a hallway without getting slammed into a locker or worse. Just for one day.

Was that really too much to ask?

But another part of her, the _reasonable_ part of her said that she was just wasting her time dreaming about that. There wasn’t enough magic in the entire universe to make that happen. She shouldn’t care what other people said; she should just enjoy her life the way she wanted to.

That part sounded suspiciously like Isabelle.

The bell rang, signalling the end of one horrendous class. Charlotte was the first one out, wanting to get to her next class without any trouble. It was English, which made her feel a bit better. If it was any block she’d like to make last forever, it would be English. Ms. Angelo could make even maths interesting – which was saying something.

As Charlie walked into the classroom, books clutched at her chest, she didn’t see Ms. Angelo at her desk. She took her seat and minutes after the bell had rang once more – screeching its announcement that fourth period had started – there was still no teacher.

Charlotte simply opened her notebook and started writing, ignoring the others in the room. It was ten minutes into the class that someone finally walked into the room, silencing her noisy classmates.

“Sorry everyone, bit of trouble on the way here. I got lost,” A man said and Charlotte paused, pen poised just above the paper. She knew that voice.

She lifted her head and saw the man from yesterday, The Doctor, wearing an outfit to the one from their last meeting. The only difference was the tweed jacket he wore over it all. He was looking around the class, smiling.

Just thinking about yesterday made her look down. How could she look him in the eye after he saw her at her lowest?

“Where’s Ms. Angelo? And who are you?” Someone in the front row asked. The Doctor spun to look at him.

“Very good question – ” He paused to look at a sheet of paper in the red binder with the seating plan on it. “Eric!” The Doctor exclaimed, a grin on his face.

“Well Eric, Ms. Angelo won’t be here for a couple days, visiting family and whatnot, so I’ll be filling in. Oh, right! My name’s The Doctor.” He wrote it down on the board behind him. “See? Good thing there’s a board, lovely little thing. That way you won’t forget my name and I won’t either because that has happened. . .” He trailed off. Meanwhile, the class burst into laughter, which caused the man to grin.

“What sort of name is ‘the doctor’?” A girl sitting near Charlotte piped up.

“Well –” Another pause to check the sheet. “Rebecca, it’s not the doctor, it’s _The Doctor_ and –”

“And it’s an amazing name,” Charlotte said without realizing the words came out of her mouth before The Doctor spoke again.

“Exactly!” He exclaimed, throwing his hands out. “Brilliant Charlotte, thank you. Now, onto English. Funny language, isn’t it? English.”

**. . .**

The Doctor was just about to walk away from the classroom, feeling rather pleased with his teaching abilities when he noticed something that ruined his mood rather quickly.

It was Charlotte. She wasn’t doing anything. It was what _others_ were doing to her.

There was a group of girls walking towards her locker and slamming it shut, nearly slamming her fingers inside in the process. He couldn’t hear what they were saying from where he stood, but judging from the high-pitched laughs from the group, it couldn’t be anything good.

One girl even tripped Charlotte when she tried to walk away and _did_ stomp on her hand with her heeled boot. Her sleeve must’ve gotten pushed up during the fall because he could hear the exclamation very clearly right after.

“Look at her arm! Little emo Jackson cuts! Next she’ll be jumping off a bridge!” Another bout of laughter and The Doctor’s anger was rising, but he couldn’t find his voice.

He didn’t know what possessed him to just stand there and watch. His entire brain was shouting for him to go help, to do something. But by the time he regained control of his limbs, the girls were already walking away and Charlotte was picking herself up off the ground, retrieving her fallen notebook as well. Then she walked away, as if nothing had happened.

The Doctor just stood there for a moment longer before going to do a bit of investigating. There was always some sort of gossip floating around the teacher’s lounge. Maybe something useful about why the TARDIS landed here would pop up. . .

But he wouldn’t forget about what they did to the poor girl that almost _did_ jump off a bridge the night before.

**. . .**

It was lunch and Charlotte had a feeling something was up.

It was Isabelle. She was sitting by herself, away from everyone else. Charlotte had tried to speak to her, but she had ignored her completely. Maybe she was mad at her? But why? She was fine this morning when they were walking to school.

Charlotte stopped in her drawing, focusing all her attention on this ‘new’ Isabelle. She had been acting strange ever since second block. But what could have possibly happened between then and their morning walk?

Charlie shook her head mentally and decided not to focus on that at the moment. Instead, she thought of points that could prove and destroy her theory about Isabelle. Point one: she was writing with her right hand. Isabelle was left-handed and couldn’t write with her right hand to save her life.

Point two: she could lift _much_ more in gym class than she could the day before. Steroids weren’t a likely possibility. That just wasn’t Isabelle. She had a blank expression on her face that didn’t change _at all_ , whenever she did speak, her tone was monotonous, she didn’t understand sarcasm – which was her favourite tool – barely could remember the names of her friends. . .

Her thoughts were spinning, going through all the prominent changes. There were enough that she didn’t need to go into much depth on the small details. But no matter what she suggested, nothing she thought of was likely enough or could cause enough of those changes to be the reason for her change.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when someone sat down across from her.

“Hello there Charlie. Fancy seeing you here,” The Doctor said with a smile, leaning on his arms that were on the table. Charlotte met his smile with a small one of her own.

“Hello Doctor. How did you convince the admin to let you teach?” Charlotte asked, curiosity getting the best of her. The Doctor laughed and pulled out his psychic paper, showing it to her.

“I’m a substitute teacher. See?”

Charlotte looked at it before returning her gaze to him, raising an eyebrow. “It’s blank.”

“Really?” He asked, surprised before looking at it himself. Written in flourishing font, right in the middle of the paper was _The Doctor; Substitute Teacher_ along with the paperwork required. “It’s right here!” He pointed out. Charlotte looked at it again before shaking her head.

“I don’t see anything Doctor.”

He looked at her, both puzzled and curious. “Interesting. . .” He murmured before putting the psychic paper away. “So Charlie, what’re you doing here all by yourself? Where are your friends? And your lunch for that matter? Aren’t you hungry?”

Charlotte smiled slightly, thought the Doctor could see the pain behind it. “I only have one friend Doctor, Isabelle, and she’s acting strange. So I’m left on my own,” She replied, starting to draw again. The Timelord frowned slightly at that. He understood better than anyone how it felt to be alone and he really felt for her.

“What about your lunch? You’ve got to be hungry. Eat,” He said, pushing his tray towards her. She met his eyes for a brief second before looking back down.

“It’s alright Doctor. I don’t need charity. Besides, then you’ll be hungry.”

The Doctor put his hand on her arm and smiled warmly when she looked up, surprised. “It’s not charity Charlotte. Think of it as a sign of friendship. I’ll take half and you take half.” When he was sure she wouldn’t just walk away, he took away his hand and split the sandwich in half, giving her the larger half.

She hesitated before taking the sandwich, giving a whispered “Thank you,” before meeting his eyes. It was only when he took a bite out of his own that Charlotte took a bite out of hers.

“So, tell me about Isabelle. What happened?”

Charlotte thought for a moment. “All her behaviour habits have changed. She’s _much_ stronger than yesterday, ignores the fact that she’s left-handed, and a couple other things that I just can’t explain. Thing is, she was fine this morning. I just can’t find a reason for it,” She finished, furrowing her eyebrows together slightly.

The Doctor listened with interest, trying to figure out a possibility himself. “About when did this all happen?” He asked, taking another bite.

“Around second block. All that happened around that time was that she was called down to the office to see the principal,” She thought out loud.

The two continued to talk before Charlotte said she had to go. Before she did though, the Doctor caught sight of what she had been drawing.

It was Circular Gallifreyan.

And it made him all the more curious about Charlotte Jackson.


	3. Chapter 3

Amy and Rory decided to take the Doctor’s advice and have some time for themselves. If he needed them he could find them. They had already gone to watch a film, had lunch, and were currently taking a walk through a park on their way back to the TARDIS.

 It was starting to rain and lucky for them, Amy had packed an umbrella in her purse.

“You really are prepared for anything, aren’t you?” Rory joked, holding the umbrella up for her. “Got anything in there for an alien attack, just in case?” He joked. Amy smirked.

“You never know. I’m _always_ prepared,” She replied, bumping into him playfully, hands intertwined. The two continued walking when they heard the light melodies of someone playing the violin.

“Who do you think would be playing in this weather?” Rory asked, looking around a bit. Amy shrugged.

“I don’t know. Let’s find out,” She said with a smile, tugging on his hand as she ran, dragging him behind her.

“Amy! Slow down!” Rory called and she let go of his hand as she slowed down, following the sound of the music, which was steadily getting louder.

“Come on Rory, it’s coming from over here,” Amelia called behind her.

“Why does it matter so much to you?” Rory asked, jogging to catch up to her.

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. Just curious I suppose.” They continued to walk until they found the source of the sound.

It was just a girl, still in high school, standing under a tree to stay out of the rain. She kept her case open and had already earned a couple pounds. Amy looked her over, noticing that she didn’t even have a proper coat to wear in the chilly weather.

 The hoodie that lay on the ground beside her had several tiny but noticeable holes in them. Her cheeks and ears were red from the wind and her jeans had patches on them – not for style, but to make them last.

The redhead turned to her fiancé and saw the sympathy she felt for the girl reflected in his eyes. She dug around in her purse and Rory looked in his wallet. The couple strolled up and dropped thirty pounds in total into her case before sauntering away.

The teen had actually paused in her playing, a bit taken aback. “Thank you very much!” She called at the retreating figures. Amy turned around and smiled.

“You’re welcome!” She called back and linked arms with Rory, moving closer under the umbrella. They both didn’t know why they had felt so deeply for the girl. It wasn’t that important though; they did something good for someone else. That was all that mattered.

Charlotte smiled at the disappearing couple and began to play a Scottish folk song.

**. . .**

Charlotte was walking to the library for her free period when she saw Isabelle ahead of her. Deciding to give it another shot, she jogged until she was walking in step with her.

“Hey Izzy,” She said, watching her carefully, trying to guess her reply. There was no expression on her face, nor did it seem that she was going to reply. Charlie was going to walk away when Isabelle turned to look at her.

“My name is Isabelle and you aren’t worthy to speak to yet. You’re still weak,” She said, blue eyes indifferent. Wasting no time at all, the girl walked away from the blonde. Charlie watched her go for a moment, trying to recover.  

_‘It’s not actually Isabelle. Something must’ve happened, she’d never say that to anyone,’_ Charlie reasoned with herself, trying to think rationally. The words still cut her to the very core though. She decided to push it into a corner of her mind and took a shortcut to the library.

Dropping her bag in a chair on the far end of the library, the teen browsed the shelves for something to read. Maybe even something to help her for her history project. After ten minutes, she found something she wouldn’t mind reading and headed back to her seat, opening the book.

Charlotte was rather fond of her hidden corner. It was well hidden so no one could really find you unless they were looking. Most students didn’t even know about this part of the library so she rarely had to listen to annoying gossip or get ridiculed by her classmates.

Sometimes she overheard things from teachers who were picking up printing or grabbing a book themselves. Occasionally when someone didn’t want to be overheard – students and teachers alike – they would meet around here in the very back of the library. Whether it is to complain about a teacher, use some choice words to describe students, or complaints about the principal, she had heard it all.

Today was one of those days.

“What do you think of Mr. Andrews?” She heard a man ask. Charlotte stayed absolutely silent, not even daring to breathe.

“Oh, he’s been doing wonders for this school,” Another voice answered, female this time. It was a bit pitchy, so it had to be Mrs. Campbell, the sweet old librarian.

“Really? What exactly has he been doing?” The man asked. _‘He seems to be rather interested,’_ Charlie thought to herself.

“He’s been doing all sorts of things. He’s helped the music and fine arts departments more than the last principal did. Between you and me, Mr. Lewis favoured the athletics department above everything else.”

Charlotte couldn’t disagree there. Mr. Lewis definitely cared more about athletics than anything else, even if his students were going home with bruises from bullying. He had favoured the athletes too much to care what they did.

“But has anything strange been happening? Anything off about him?” The man pressed, sounding a bit strained.

There was a pause. “Well, there have been shipments to the school, saying that they’re for the P.E department, but they aren’t seen again after Mr. Andrews signs for them.”

“Thank you very much,” The man said, sounding much happier and there was the sound of footsteps. Charlotte peeked over the pile of books only to see the side door swing shut.

Her mind was reeling. What did packages have to do with anything? Surely the principal wasn’t drugging students, right? And what sort of drug could do what had happened to Isabelle. Charlie shook her head. She was getting ahead of herself.

She needed to find evidence.

**. . .**

 “Hello class! Turns out Mrs. Angelo won’t be back for a while so you’re stuck with me!” That was how the Doctor greeted his English class that day. It was the last period for Charlotte and she just wanted it to end quickly and get home before her father.

Charlie doodled aimlessly in her notebook as the class began reading a story from the textbook. The Doctor noticed that Charlotte wasn’t really paying attention to the lesson and he was losing some of the other kids, but he really didn’t know what to teach. After ten minutes, the story was done.

“Alright!” He exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “It’s says that I have to assign you questions related to the story –” A collective groan from the class voiced their opinions on that matter, “But that’s boring and no fun to do. Seeing as I don’t really have anything prepared for today, all I want you to do is write for ten minutes and then you can continue working or do what you like.”

He received a better response this time. Grabbing a marker, he wrote the topic of the little writing piece – identity – on the board and let the kids get to work. They worked silently for ten minutes, and then everyone talked amongst their friends.

Everyone except Charlie.

She was bent over her notebook, writing furiously. Every couple minutes she paused to reread her work before she’d set off again.

_‘Why is she so important?’_  The Doctor questioned himself. First the bridge, then her being at the school, then her being in his English class, sitting with her at lunch, _and then_ her ability to write Circular Gallifreyan.

At first it was because he understood what it felt like. Now he wasn’t so sure if it even started out like that. What was so special about Charlotte Jackson?

The bell rang and Charlotte was the first one out the door. He noticed that in her hurry she had left her blue notebook on her desk. The Timelord grabbed it quickly and walked out of the class to find that she had already left.

“I’ll just have to return it tomorrow,” He murmured to himself. “But for now, I have work to do.”

**. . .**

The Doctor did some poking around the principal’s office after everyone had gone home for the night. He didn’t find anything particularly interesting; papers, papers and, you guessed it, more papers.

“That doesn’t seem right. He has to be hiding something. . .” He mused before throwing open the closet, revealing several boxes. “What do we have here?” The Doctor whispered before kneeling down to open them.

The Timelord was a bit surprised at the contents and put one of the items in his pocket to look at in the TARDIS. He closed the box and stood up, shutting the closet before striding to the desk, looking at some of the papers.

“Emily Jameson, Sarah Jones, Daniel Phillips, Isabelle Taylor. . .They’ve made a list,” He exclaimed before looking at the rest of the list to see who the next victim would be.

“I really hoped it wouldn’t be you,” He whispered softly before walking out of the office.

**. . .**

Charlie walked in the field near her school, kicking a rock as she did so. Her parents had fought again and she was sporting several bruises littered on her arm to show where their anger had been unleashed. She knew that she would be in even more trouble tomorrow for running out but found that she couldn’t care less at the moment.

With Isabelle acting strange, she had nowhere to go for the night. Her grandparents had moved to another city and she had no money on her at the moment. It was in her schoolbag, which she had forgotten at home.

She didn’t even grab her backup bag –the contents made up of a couple changes of clothes and enough money to last her weeks – which she had hidden under the porch for times like this.

Her only option now was to just find the best place she could and call it a night. It wouldn’t be too bad to sleep in the field for the night. The school provided some shelter for her. She could always get into the school quickly the next morning and shower. There was a spare pair of street clothes in her gym bag anyways.

“It’s probably best to just sleep here,” She said to herself and lay down on a bench in the courtyard, taking off her jacket to create a make-shift pillow. It wasn’t ideal, but she wasn’t going to complain. As she drifted off to sleep, she felt something being draped on her, something warm, and a kiss pressed to the top of her head. Her ears picked up the sound of footsteps walking away but she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes as sleep overwhelmed her.

**. . .**

The Doctor was sitting near the console, flicking through a certain blue notebook.

“Doctor! You can’t just read her private stuff!” Amy protested as she walked to the console. Her arms were crossed and she looked at him frowningly. Rory had joined her and was just shaking his head, disappointed.

“I’m not reading her private stuff!” He protested. “Look at this,” He said, showing the redhead and her fiancé the drawings.

 “What is it?” Rory asked, confused. He looked between Amy and the Doctor, waiting for one of them to clarify. Amy just shook her head and looked to her Raggedy Doctor. Everything was silent for a moment as the Doctor collected his thoughts.

“It’s Circular Gallifreyan,” He said simply before explaining. “It’s the writing of my people. It _was_ the writing of the Timelords.” The last Timelord fell silent, looking at the pictures once more, trying to figure it out. Amy sat down beside him and just watched, concern written on her face.

“What does it mean then? If she can write this Gallifreyan stuff. . .” Rory drifted off. The Doctor looked up, torn between hope and disbelief.

“I don’t know. All of this is connected somehow, but I just don’t see it.”

“What do you mean ‘everything?’ Have you met her before?” Amy asked. The Timelord nodded and stood up, walking to the console, typing on the keyboard.

“When we first landed here the two of you were asleep. The TARDIS landed herself. She, Charlie, was going to jump off a bridge. And I stopped her. When we arrived here at the school I saw her again. She popped up in my English class and I sat with her at lunch,” The Doctor said before turning to look at his two companions. “I saw her get bullied and teased. Every time I felt I _needed_ to help, to talk, to reach out to her. And I still don’t know why.”

He turned back to the keyboard and pressed a button. The screen showed their surroundings and he caught sight of Charlotte one again.

“That’s the girl we saw yesterday,” Rory commented, turning to Amy. The Doctor turned as well.

“You what?”

“We were on our way back and were walking through the park,” Amy began. “I heard violin music and saw her playing under a tree. It was raining and all she had was a sweater with holes and her jeans were patched up. We gave her some money, that’s all.”

The Doctor nodded and looked up at the screen once more to find the teen sleeping on a bench. He frowned for a moment before wordlessly leaving to one of the spare bedrooms, grabbing a blanket, and walking out of the TARDIS. The couple watched him on the monitor.

He draped the blanket on her and tucked it in a bit, careful not to wake her. His smiled slightly, eyes warm as he saw her curl into the blanket, welcoming its heat. Before he knew what he was doing, he kissed the top of her head. The Timelord thought about that as he walked back to his ship. He had caught himself off guard as to how much he began to care about the girl in such little time. It was scaring him. What if one of his enemies found out and dragged her into his fights? He banished the thought.

When he walked in, he found Amy smirking and Rory looking away, failing to hide a smile. Before either one could open their mouths, he spoke.

“Oh shut up you two! Off to bed,” He said as he closed the notebook. The couple laughed as they headed to their bedrooms. The Doctor shook his head slightly, ignoring the smile that was tugging at his lips, and began to flip through the notebook again.

Flipping to what she was writing today, he read a couple sentences and almost dropped it in shock.

She had written about the Time War.

Putting the notebook to the side, he ran to the monitor and ran some tests.

Charlotte had only one heart.

“What the heck is going on,” He muttered to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Just to let you all know, this is also posted on FF.net and it's waaaayyyy ahead of this right now. Anyways, thanks for the kudos and I hope you like the chapter!

Charlie woke up in the morning, dazed and confused. She didn’t remember having a fuzzy red blanket with her when she passed out. Come to think of it, she didn’t even own such an item so she just laid there for a moment on the bench, contemplating the meaning of mysterious blankets.

It was then that it struck her that she was sleeping on a school bench. Sitting up quickly, she looked through the folds of her hoodie for the things that allowed her to see. Once the black frames were perched on her nose and she was sure that she wouldn’t run into a brick wall, Charlie stood and gathered her things. It didn’t take her long and she walked towards the door, opening it with a yank of her arm.

Charlotte nodded slightly in greeting to two janitors as she walked to her locker. Her hands worked on their own accord as she put in her combination, opening the locker with ease. She shuffled a couple of her binders around and grabbed the bag with her spare change of clothes.

Glancing at the digital clocks scattered around the school, it was still too early for many students to be here. Walking towards the school showers, she heard voices and ducked into the nearest bathroom. She didn’t even know why she was hiding, it simply felt right.

“. . .She is the only student that remains to be implanted with the chips. No one suspects a thing. You must relax. Then the rest of the plan will commence.” Charlotte’s eyes widened. She knew that voice; it was Mr. Andrews.

“I don’t care for your plan. It isn’t fast enough Andrews. Other races will try to get her, even this early on in their timelines,” Another male voice said, irritated. “I need that girl quickly, people are getting suspicious. The Cybermen technology won’t fool him for long.”

There was a laugh, probably from the teen’s principal. “Who?  The Doctor? I doubt that he is a threat–”

“Don’t be an idiot Andrews, he is a bigger threat than you take him for. I’ve faced him a long time ago and he isn’t someone you want after you,” The mystery voice replied, reprimanding the man. There was something else behind the voice. . .fear possibly?

Andrews huffed, sounding miffed as he spoke. “She will be chipped today, don’t you worry. And remember my share of the reward. No one would look down at me again back on my home planet with that sort of thing under my belt.”

Charlotte’s eyebrows furrowed together as she bit her lip. Who were they talking about? What were the chips? Was that what had happened to Isabelle? Temptation was too much and she peeked out of the bathroom and caught a glimpse of the mystery man. He had slicked back dark brown hair and grey eyes that were cold and calculating. His clothing made it seem like he had walked out of the Victorian era.

Quickly ducking her head back in, she listened carefully as they began to walk away.

“You’ll get your reward in due time. Just give me the girl.”

**. . .**

The Doctor was sitting in the console room, studying the chip he had taken last night. Amy walked out of the kitchen where both she and Rory had been cooking to find him in his ‘thinking pose.’

“Are you having a staring contest Doctor?” The redhead said with a smile as she walked over. “What is the chip for anyways?”

 “It’s Cyberman technology,” He said as he put it down. “I, um, borrowed it.” Amy raised an eyebrow, and amused grin tugging at her lips.

“Alright, what does it do?”   

The Doctor glanced at her, turning as he did so. “It alters personality. Kind of like upgrading without looking like a Cyberman,” He explained, but even then his mind was reeling and Amy could see that.

“What’s wrong Raggedy Man?” She asked, curious. The Timelord turned away from her and put his attention back onto the chip. Amy was patient this time; she knew he needed to collect his thoughts.

“I don’t understand why the Cybermen are going after a bunch of high school students,” He started, fiddling with the chip, as if to get more information out of it than he already had. “It could be possible that they want to test out this new technology, but why here? Why did they have a list? As far as I could tell, the students didn’t share any traits amongst them. At the same time, the chip technology is still a bit too advanced for the Cybermen currently. Someone else has to be pulling the strings, but who?”

By the end of it, the Doctor was more talking to himself than the redhead. She sat and listened though, trying to help him think of something, but she was drawing a blank.

“Oi, you two, have something to eat,” Rory called, walking out of the kitchen. “I just finished making breakfast.”

“Not hungry,” The Doctor replied, waving his hand. Amy was already walking towards the kitchen.

“Doctor, you’re going to be teaching a bunch of high school students. You’re going to want some food,” He reasoned. “Better hurry before Amy eats it all.” The Doctor chuckled, shaking his head slightly. His companions really did know how to get his mind off other things.

“Oh hush you,” She remarked as she walked past him to go to the kitchen. Her hand shot out as she walked past her fiancé and smacked his arm. Rory rubbed his arm lightly, wincing slightly.

“Amy! That hurt!”

Amy simply laughed in response. When Rory began muttering under his breath, she popped out of the kitchen and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Love you,” She said with a smile before popping back into the kitchen.  The Doctor simply watched his two companions, amused with their antics. Rory turned to look at him and the Timelord smirked.

“You took that awfully well Rory,” He remarked and the other glared at him. If looks could kill, the Timelord would’ve been in big trouble. But then Rory smirked.

“What about the time she chased you will her shoe?” He asked, smirking as the Doctor winced at the memory. The alien never wanted to live through another incident like that ever again.

“That doesn’t count!” The Doctor shouted and Rory laughed.

“You were screaming bloody murder,” Rory added. He simply watched the Doctor trying, and failing, to come up with a response. Amy’s voice called out from the kitchen, breaking the two out of their staring contest.

“Boys, hurry up!”

The two promptly made their way to the kitchen after that.

**. . .**

In history class, a certain blonde was staring out the window. It wasn’t that she didn’t find history interesting – she found it fascinating – but her mind just wouldn’t allow her to focus on her teacher’s speeches. Her eyes were glazed over though, not taking in any of the sights; she was thinking, her mind trying to make sense of everything she had heard.

No matter how hard she tried, the words didn’t make complete sense. Who was the person they were after? Why were they so important? Why was the Doctor here and why was he someone to watch out for? Hold on. . .

The Doctor!

Charlotte had to do everything to stop herself from outright leaping out of her desk, but she did jump a little, which caused several of her classmates to look at her and shake their heads, but she couldn’t care less at the moment. Charlie was going to get answers, she was bound to, and the only person she was sure would know something about this entire mess was the Doctor.

The thought was a somewhat comforting one, knowing that she’d get this whole mess sorted out and have her friend again. She missed having Isabelle around and missed having someone to talk to. It made her life somewhat bearable to have her there. Having someone to understand was wonderful and something she had never realized how much she needed.

Charlie remained in her distracted state, letting some of the lecture seep into her mind, though barely. Grey eyes glanced up to the clock every couple of minutes, willing it to go faster before returning to the depths of her mind, just letting her thoughts take over and shutting down. . .

_“Charlotte? Charlotte, dinner’s almost ready! Come on sweetie, before you freeze out there!”_

_Charlie was outside bundled up in the thickest jacket in history with blue mittens on her little hands and a red hat on her head. She was playing in the snow, enjoying the weather while conveniently forgetting about the cold._

_“In a minute Mummy!” She called back, hoping her mother had heard her. The little girl stood up and looked down at her snow angel, marvelling in her creation that her father showed her to make. Speaking of her father. . ._

_Charlotte looked around, trying to find her dad. Trudging in snow that was up to her knees, she began her search around the large backyard, trying to be as quiet as she could. Caught off guard, she was lifted off her feet and thrown into the air gently. She squealed in delight as she landed back into her uncle’s arms._

_“There’s my favourite little niece!”_

_Charlotte giggled. She liked her uncle’s voice; it didn’t sound anything like her parents or her own. Come to think of it, she had never heard a voice like his before – Mummy called it an accent._

_“I’m your only niece!” She said, squirming a bit in his grip. He laughed and put her on the ground._

_“Exactly! Are you looking for your dad?” He asked, kneeling so that he wasn’t towering over her; she could barely reach his hip. She nodded, before throwing her hands up in the air._

_“I can’t find him anywhere!”_

_He laughed again. “Maybe he’s hiding somewhere. Come on, let’s find him together.” Charlotte nodded eagerly, her hat slipping a bit to cover her eyes. Her nose wrinkled and she pushed it back, following the path that he was making for her._

_After about ten minutes of trudging around the front and back yard and having a mini snowball fight, they found the man they were looking for, just walking into the backyard. Her uncle motioned for her to be quiet, since the man hadn’t seen them yet. Just as he was about to round the corner to walk up the steps into the house, she ran out and tackled his legs in a hug._

_“Daddy!”_

_He chuckled and picked her up, swinging her around. “Oh, look at my little girl. What’ve you been doing?” He asked, pressing a kiss to her head. She giggled and pointed at her uncle, who was walking up to them now._

_“I was playing with uncle and looking for you,” She said with a grin before looking at him curiously. “Where did you go Daddy?”_

_He looked at her, a bit sad for a moment before smiling. “I was just running an errand for your mother, but I’m here now, so don’t worry. What did you play?”_

_Before the little girl could reply, her uncle spoke out. “Innuendo bingo. What did you think we played? We just had a snowball fight.”_

_“For goodness’ sake-!”_

_“What’s an innu- innu- inuuwedo?” Charlie asked, cutting off her father. He simply glared at her uncle before looking at her, eyes a bit wide._

_“That’s – um – that’s for another time sweetie. Why don’t we head inside, hmm?” He changed subjects quickly. Thankfully, the back door opened._

_“Come on in you three, dinner’s ready. The scarf again? Really?” Her mum asked, looking both exasperated and fond. Her father simply looked down at it, confused._

_“What? I like this scarf!”_

_“Me too!” Charlie exclaimed and her father just smiled, tossing the end of the scarf over her shoulder. Her uncle laughed._

_“Looks like they win.”_

_Her mother rolled her eyes, a smile on her face as she headed inside and the others followed, retreating into the warmth. . ._

“RRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG!”

The bell jolted Charlie out of her thoughts. She gathered her things and quickly made it to her locker, wanting to grab her book and write everything down as quickly as possible. Just when she thought there were no more good memories, another one just popped up. It was funny though; she couldn’t remember the house or the faces or even the names. She just remembered the voices and the clothes.

Searching her locker, she couldn’t find her blue notebook anywhere. Trying not to panic, she tore through her bag, praying that it would be there. Her heart stopped when she couldn’t find it. Where could it be? That book was more precious to her than any of her other items combined. The things that she had written in that book. . .she wasn’t even sure how she had written them. Many of them, yes, were stories, but there were entries that seemed real.

There was no way they could be, but they seemed more real than some of her own memories.

“Did you lose something?”

Charlie turned around and there was the Doctor, holding out her notebook. She breathed a sigh of relief, grabbing the book from him. A small smile tugged at her lips.

“Thank you so much. I was worried for a second.”

“You forgot it in my classroom yesterday,” He explained, grinning, rocking back on his heels. “You’re welcome. Well, I should thank you. You write excellent stories,” The Timelord complimented, gesturing to the book. “I hope you don’t mind, but I read a few.”

Charlotte looked torn between hurt, anger, and smiling. She settled in looking at the floor, a slight blush tinting her cheeks. “Thanks,” She said meekly before remembering something and looking up. “I need to talk to you. Quickly. Are you free?”

The Doctor seemed a bit taken aback by the question but nodded. Dropping off her stuff in her locker, she locked it and motioned for him to follow her. Glancing over her shoulder to check that he was following her, she strode to the library.

**. . .**

The Timelord was stumped. Not only with the obvious mystery about how the girl who knew things that she really shouldn’t, but about what she wanted to talk about. He really wasn’t sure what was going on – like many of his companions in the beginning when he’d drag them somewhere new – and wasn’t sure that he liked it.

However, he continued to follow the teen straight to the back corner of the library. Once they were both seated, she opened her mouth and got straight to the point.

“Something’s going on here, something the police wouldn’t understand, and you know about it.” She simply looked at him as he was taken aback for the second time today by the teenager, unsure of how to respond. Did he really want to drag her into this? After saving her, could he stand to see her get hurt?

Why was it so different for her than his past companions? Maybe because she was still so young, that she didn’t know what she was getting into. Charlie waiting patiently as all of these thoughts ran through his head. But then he remembered the office and spoke.

“First of all, tell me what you know. We can help each other,” He stated, leaning on his elbows. Charlotte’s lip twitched up slightly and nodded.

“I overheard the principal speaking to some other man, practically saying he wasn’t from this planet. The other man was getting worried and Andrews said that they were almost done implanting chips into the students, that the one that they were trying to get was next. They said something about timelines,” She said, crinkling her brow in thought, “that it was early in their timelines and the person was valuable.”

The Doctor listened keenly and nodded. Glancing up at her, he saw that she was composed, but her eyes shone with curiosity. He chuckled to himself before responding. “What made you think I had anything to do with this?”

Charlie simply raised her eyebrow, as if he was insulting her intelligence, but answered nonetheless. “You showed up less than a week after this stuff started happening. The man also mentioned you as someone to watch out for. He said that he had faced you before a long time ago. The y said the chips were Cybermen technology. Doctor,” Her tone changed to one of curiosity and a hint of fear, “what’s going on?”  

She watched on, nervous and excited for an answer. The man in front of her just sat back, staring at his hands. For a second, she could swear that his eyes looked much older than the rest of him did; like he had seen things that he wished he could erase.

They kind of reminded her of a person mourning the death of someone dear to their heart.

“Doctor.” Her voice was warm, with a hint of childlike concern. She reached out hesitantly and put her hand on top of one of his. “You don’t have to explain. Just tell me it’ll be okay.”

The Timelord had been struck dumb by the teenager. She had surprised him so many times today. He looked up and knew he couldn’t just leave her in the dark. Especially when he thought back.

That just made things a lot more confusing with this new information.  He knew he couldn’t leave her in the dark.

 He gave her a kindly smile and gave her hand a pat. “Everything will be okay,” The elder reassured, but held onto her hand as she motioned to get up, “but you do need to know some things.” Her eyebrow rose, questioning, yet she stayed in her seat, nodding for him to continue.

A sigh escaped his lips before he began to speak again. “First things first – I am not human,” he held up his hand when he saw that she wanted to say something, effectively silencing her. She closed her mouth, letting him continue.

“I am a Timelord – an alien to you. I have two hearts and I’m over 900 years old. I travel through time and space, bumping into and saving people. It’s very likely that I may know the other man – maybe even that he knows me but I don’t know him. Cybermen are something that I’ve dealt with many times. . .”

The two sat there for nearly half an hour, the Doctor speaking and Charlotte listening intently. Not once did she try to interrupt him. How could anyone want to? There was part of her that didn’t believe a word he said, that told her to just call the police and – quite possibly – a mental hospital. But another, bigger part of her believed every word. She couldn’t help but feel so insignificant beside this – what was he? Oh, yes – Timelord. 

“. . .And your name is next on the list. They plan to chip you. What they want to do afterwards, I’m not sure, but there were enough chips for at least half of London to be chipped, possibly more,” The Doctor finished.

Charlotte took a moment to let everything sink in, trying to make sense of it all. It all did make sense though, surprisingly. Except for one thing. . .

“Why me? What’s so special about me?” Charlie asked, thoroughly confused. She couldn’t see the point of trying to get her. The Doctor noticed this as well, but smiled.

“You ar –”

“Charlotte Jackson, report to the principal’s office. Charlotte Jackson, to the principal’s office immediately,” The woman on the PA system cut him off. The two looked at each other, wondering what to do.

They had less time than the Doctor thought they did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to apologize now for dumping about fifteen chapters on you guys within the next ten minutes. It's about time I caught this up to where it is on FF.net.
> 
> Anyways, leave a comment or a kudo if you like the chapter maybe? Thanks.

The two looked at each other, both as ill prepared at this time as the other. Each one was expecting at least a few more minutes to plan. Alas, this wasn’t the case unfortunately. Charlie was the first to speak, voicing exactly what the Timelord expected her to.

“Doctor, what do we do? Do I go?” Her voice didn’t betray what she felt, but her eyes did – she was scared, unsure, surrounded by things she had only known about for moments. Of course she’d be afraid.

She looked at him, letting herself trust him completely after such a short time together. He always did say that he had a face that people couldn’t help trusting; this was just more proof for the fact. He had to think of something and fast.

He cleared his throat before speaking. “If we don’t go, they’ll obviously become suspicious. Never a good thing, trust me. But I’ve got a plan! Well, part of a plan – well, it’s a good idea. Hopefully. Alright, it’s just an idea, but you’ll be perfectly safe,” The Doctor rambled slightly. It wasn’t a full proof idea – more like a fragment of thought – but it was something. Better yet, Charlie would get out of the school unharmed.

Charlie simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. After seeing he was lost in his thoughts, she waved a hand in front of his face. “Earth to Doctor. You have a half-formed plan to fill me in on. Hello?”

Jarred out of his many trails of thought, the Doctor clapped his hands together and smiled, standing     up. “Right! First of all, you need to clear out the school in the noisiest manner possible. It’ll double as a distraction while getting everyone out of the line of fire. Then you get out as fast as you can without being seen. That’s where we’ll part ways. Do you understand Charlie?” He asked, looking at the teenager.

She looked as if she was about to protest, but seeing the look on his face, decided against it and nodded.

“Yes, I understand Doctor. Out as fast as possible,” Charlotte repeated, though she couldn’t leave it at just that. “What about Isabelle? Will she be okay? Will you be okay Doctor?”

He looked her in the eyes, knowing how worried she must feel about her friend. No matter what, he was going to make sure that her friend would be back to normal.

“Isabelle and the others will be fine,” He assured, “They’ll be back to themselves after all of this is done and over with. They won’t recall a thing since after they were chipped.”

Charlie grinned, relieved at the news. Isabelle would be fine and back to normal. They would be alright and she wouldn’t even remember how she had treated her! No silly apologies, no complications, just enjoying each other’s company.

They definitely had to go have some chips together after all of this was sorted out. It would just be so wonderful to have her best friend back. It had only been a little while and she already felt like an outcast again.

Well, she was an outcast, but it didn’t matter to her with her friend around. Her eyebrows furrowed together slightly though, her second question still unanswered.

“Will you be okay Doctor?” The girl repeated, wanting to hear some sort of reply so she wouldn’t just refuse to leave him alone. It was silly – after all, he was a grown man and could take care of himself – but she needed something. It could very well be dangerous. She didn’t want him to get injured or even killed.

Especially not for her.

The Timelord smiled, touched by her concern, and nodded. “Of course I’ll be okay Charlie. Tell you what; I’ll come see you after a while, just so you know, alright?” The teen gave her response to the suggestion with a slight upturn of her lips.

“Sounds great Doc.”

The Doctor grinned slightly at the nickname. It wasn’t a bad one – he might even grow fond of it in time. But for now, there were things that just had to get done.

Like stopping the evil alien principal.

“Perfect. Now, Miss Jackson, we have work to do.”

**. . .**

Charlie wasn’t really looking forward to leaving the Doctor on his own and leaving with the rest of the school, but she wasn’t about to disobey him.

Slipping out of the library, she made sure to steer clear of the offices and out of sight of the cameras. She really only had one shot at this since it was a break between classes. Sticking close to a group of older students, her fingers closed around the fire alarm and gave it a good tug.

At the same moment, smoke started to creep through the hallways from the cafeteria. Her work was done as teachers began ushering students out of the school.

As she slipped out of the school, she heard an announcement on the PA system. She knew right way whose voice it was and smiled to herself.

“Everyone please leave the school in an orderly fashion. We are currently working on the problem. The school will be unsafe to enter for a few days so everyone please go home immediately. Leave whatever belongings that remain in your locker behind and exit the school immediately.”

“Goodbye Doctor,” Charlotte whispered to herself before slipping out of a side door. Snaking in and out of the crowd, she only thought about where she planned to head after this. It was clear that hanging around the school wasn’t an option – it would be too risky. After all, what if one of the implanted students caught her and took her to the principal? Their efforts would all be in vain.

No, it was for the best that she left the property as soon as humanly possible. Charlotte settled on going to a cafe not very far away from the school. It was close enough that the Doctor could find her, but crowded enough for her to remain unseen and make a quick getaway if needed.

As she began to make her way to the edge of the property, heading to her decided destination, she didn’t take note of an extremely important detail amongst the noise of the entire school on the grounds.

There was a set of faint footsteps trailing behind her.

**. . .**

As soon as the Doctor heard the fire alarm wail its warning bell, he made his way to the principal’s office, not slowing down his jog as he wove in and out of students and teachers alike fleeing the premises. Listening carefully at the door for a moment, a look of confusion flashed across his features.

Why was it so silent within the room?

Grabbing his sonic screwdriver with one hand and reaching for the handle with the other, the Timelord slowly opened the door, creeping his way in cautiously. At first glance, everything seemed to be normal. Only when you had a closer look did you notice that the room had been tidied of all the chips and papers he had seen only yesterday.

Marching to the desk, he pulled out drawer after drawer, finding nothing within. Flinging open the closet – which he had searched only the night before –he discovered that it too had been cleaned of all its contents. Not a single trace remained.

How could he be such a fool? This was all going to blow up in his face very soon. He only hoped that Charlotte had managed to get away without any trouble. Looking at the room, all the evidence pointed at one possible explanation. . .

“They knew,” The Timelord whispered to himself.  They were counting on him to do this – for the distraction and everything. They must have known him much better than he thought they would. This whole incident only meant that he was facing an enemy that had met him, but that he hadn’t met yet. 

He remained there for a moment, staring at the spotless closet until the office door swung shut with a slam. He spun around, grip tightening on his sonic, to see none other than ‘Principal Andrews’ smirking at him.

“I really should’ve seen this coming,” He said, a slight upturn of his lips accompanying his words. Scanning the area slightly, it seemed to just be the two of them. Then again, there was always some sort of surprise during these types of meetings.

“So nice of you to finally join us Doctor. We were getting worried waiting for you.”

He caught sight of a man in the shadows, barely catching an outline. Before he could even make a witty retort, he felt a blow to the back of his head before he fell forward, sonic rolling away from him, the world fading to black.

  **. . .**

Charlotte waited at the cafe for quite a while, becoming more worried as the minutes ticked by. She took a sip of her coffee, keeping an eye on the door, expecting a man with a red bowtie and matching suspenders to walk through them at any second. After ten more minutes she paid and left the cafe, walking down the street with her hands in her pockets.

How could she be so stupid? The Doctor was probably long gone by now. And all that Timelord nonsense? He was probably just making a fool out of her. Why did she let herself care? Was Isabelle in on this?

 _‘Of course not!’_ The rational part of her brain screamed, but she was a teenager – which meant that her emotions were ruling her brain at the moment and rational thought was tossed aside. _‘What if he’s in trouble?’_ Her brain desperately tried once more to put rationality in charge again.

It seemed to have done the trick since she stopped in her tracks. What if the Doctor really was in trouble? Trouble that he couldn’t get out of? The rational part of her brain had remained in control for only a short time before emotion took over and she bolted down the street towards the school.

Charlie didn’t pay much attention to the shouts she received from angry pedestrians as she bumped into them in her mad dash. There were mumbled apologies less than half the time. All she was focused on was that she had to get to the school as fast as humanly possible.

She only slowed down when she had to cross the street but even then she jogged across the road. Deciding that it would be foolish to simply stroll through the front door, Charlotte snuck back into the school through the side door.

Being careful to avoid the cameras at all costs, she got close to the principal’s office before she realized something. If she wanted to get into that office, she would have to come within sight of the things she was trying to avoid.

Deciding that there was no other option left for her to get into that room, Charlie sprinted and opened the door quickly, getting in as fast as possible before shutting it behind her. It was quite a shock to find herself in an empty room. She expected _someone_ or _something_ to be in the room. There was literally nothing else in the room besides a desk and a chair.

Charlotte walked around the room, looking into the open closet and kneeling to look under the desk. She was about to get up when she saw something glint silver. Stretching her arm underneath the desk, her hand snapped shut on the object, pulling it out as she kneeled.

The girl simply stared at it for a few moments, taking in its strange appearance. It was remotely shaped like a screwdriver, but had claws and what looked like a green bulb. Charlie guessed that it was the object that she couldn’t identify the first time she and the Doctor had met. Which meant that the Doctor must have been there.

And that he had gotten into some serious trouble.

Hearing the door handle click, she hastily stuffed the screwdriver-thing into the inner pocket of her jacket and stood. She was considering hiding in the closet, but the door swung open and she knew it was of no use. The teen had been caught.

By the creepy Victorian dude.

He simply looked at her, a smirk on his face. Charlotte stood tall, biting back her fear. She noticed that he had two chipped students with him.

“Miss Jackson. It’s a pleasure to meet such a legend,” Victorian guy said while taking his hat off in a mock sign of respect, stepping into the room. Charlotte watched him carefully, making sure that the desk was always between them.

“What do you mean a legend?” She questioned. If you had asked her, she would have said that it was to keep him talking, so she could have a few seconds to figure out something to do. But the truth was that she was curious – he had said something about timelines earlier that day. Did he know what she would become? Who she grew to be?

The man chuckled. “You have quite the reputation Miss Jackson. Many of the Doctor’s enemies know who you are. Some of the people he saved know as well,” He explained, placing his hat back on his head, “you’ve made your own enemies as well from what I’ve heard. In fact, you’ve made your own name for yourself out there.”

The more the man spoke, the more confused Charlotte became. What the heck was he going on about? It must have shown on her face because the man smirked. That really irritated Charlotte – what was he playing at anyways?

“Where’s the Doctor? Tell me where he is,” She demanded, sounding a lot more confident than she felt at the moment. The man simply raised his eyebrow.

“How should I know?” He replied. Charlie felt like punching him in frustration.

“Because you’re not supposed to be a total moron, that’s how,” She replied snarkily. This guy was really starting to get on her nerves. He just kept smirking.

“I don’t think I care for your tone young lady,” He said before turning to the students, “get her and take her to her precious Doctor. I think he should have a front seat to her conversion.”

Her heart was pounding in her chest but she didn’t run right away. Several things happened in the next couple moments. First, Charlotte moved to stand in front of the closet. Then the students ran for her.

It took all her willpower not to flinch until the students were close enough. She then dodged and gave a good shove, knocking them both into the closet and locking it quickly. It would at least buy her a bit of time. Still not sure what to do with the Victorian man, she turned around to find him gone.

Charlotte would usually be curious to this sort of thing, but the only thing going through her mind at the moment was how long she would have before the closet door gave way to the pounding of the occupants. Running into the front office, she checked the security camera footage on the monitor, trying to find the Doctor.

 Grey eyes scanned the screen until she saw the man in the bowtie. The camera label said that he was in the basement, but she saw none of his surroundings. He seemed to be fine, just unconscious.

The sound of splintering wood made her turn away from the monitor. It seemed that the door would hold up for a shorter time than she originally thought. Another splintering sound followed by a crash told her that her time had run out. Getting an idea, she made a point of running in front of the principal’s office.

“Catch me if you can!” Charlie shouted, laughing as she didn’t stop, taking the screwdriver out of her jacket pocket and opening the side door, dropping her jacket there before hiding in the janitor’s closet.

She prayed and watched on as the students looked out the side door and looked down – probably to look at the piece of clothing – both looking at each other for a moment. Charlie held her breath, watching on. She almost laughed when the two ran out the door, thinking that they were heading in the direction that she was running.

The blonde tucked the screwdriver into her combat boot before walking out of the closet, running to the nearest stairs that would take her to the basement.

**. . .**

The Doctor regained consciousness, blinking several times, trying to figure out where he was. The Timelord rubbed the back of his head – where he was sure that a bump would form – and realized that he was in handcuffs.

Checking his pockets, he groaned when he remembered that his sonic had rolled away from him when he had been knocked out. He felt. . .naked without it. It was his sonic, and now he was a sonic-less Doctor. What use was that?!

“Never mind that,” He whispered to himself, looking at his surroundings, which was a bit difficult considering that the tiny window above him didn’t provide much light. “I’ve got to find a way out of here.”

Squinting for a few moments in the dark, he could make out the edges of the door and walked over. He pressed his ear against it, trying to hear what was happening on the other side. It was silent, except for the hum of something the school needed to run. Furnace perhaps?

Turning the door handle, the Doctor realized that it was locked and kicked it. In retrospect, that wasn’t the smartest thing to do.

“Ouch!” He exclaimed, hopping around while holding his now injured foot. Why did this have to happen to him? “Alright, I’ve got no sonic, my hands are handcuffed, and the door is locked.” The Timelord began pacing. The window? No, he couldn’t fit through that thing.

He picked up the faint sound of footsteps and pressed his ear against the door once again. They sounded as if they were descending stairs.

“Doctor?” He heard a voice whisper and knew immediately who the voice belonged to.

“I’m in here,” He said, knocking on the door lightly. The footsteps approached the door and he began speaking again. “Charlie, the door’s locked and I don’t have my sonic-“

“You mean the screwdriver?” She cut across, “I have it right here. Just tell me what to do.”

“Point it at the handle and think of the door unlocking. It has a psychic interface. It’ll work, I swear.”

“Alright,” Was all he heard from the girl. Moments later the door opened and the Doctor grinned. Charlie returned the grin and handed him his screwdriver.

“I found it under the desk. You have to explain how that works to me later,” She said as he got the handcuffs off.

“Of course,” He said before laughing and giving her a hug. “You are brilliant Charlie! Absolutely brilliant!”

Charlie laughed and returned the hug for a moment before they broke apart. “So, what do we do now?”

The two fell silent as they heard footsteps heading towards them. Noticing the shadows, they both knew what was heading their way. The Doctor looked at the girl and grinned, holding out his hand.

“Easy, Miss Charlotte Jackson. We run,” He said and Charlie raised an eyebrow in amusement, taking his hand as they set off down one of the basement’s many dimly lit hallways.


	6. Chapter 6

_“Easy, Miss Charlotte Jackson. We run,” He said and Charlie raised an eyebrow in amusement, taking his hand as they set off down one of the basement’s many dimly lit hallways._

**. . .**

The pair ran through a maze of hallways, though it wasn’t an easy feat. Half the time it seemed like they were going to run into a wall because of the terrible lighting. The footsteps behind them grew softer before becoming louder and softer once more. It was never easy to tell how far ahead they were of their pursuers.

“Why haven’t we run up to the main school yet?” Charlie asked when they stopped for breath, pressing their backs against the wall. The thought had occurred to her several times as they ran, but she was putting all her efforts into keeping up with the Timelord. There was no way she was going to spare any energy to speak.

“Very good point Charlotte,” The Doctor said, glancing over at her, “but I’m looking for something, so keep an eye out.” He glanced around the corner, checking for their pursuers. They both didn’t hear anything. Not a single footstep.

“What am I suppose to keep an eye out for?” Charlotte whispered, unsure. How was she supposed to keep an eye out when she didn’t know what she was looking for?

“For anything strange, do keep up Charlie,” The Doctor remarked, checking around the corner again.

Charlie was about to say something in return, but stopped and closed her mouth, noticing the change in his manner suddenly. The man paused, not saying anything for a moment. Instead, he kept very still, as if straining to hear something.

All Charlie could hear was the pounding of blood in her ears. She was decently fit due to the fact that she had to walk most places and sprinted to catch buses, but she was in no way an athlete. The teen doubted that anyone less than an Olympic runner would have been able to run all she had today and still have enough energy to run some more.

 _‘Hanging around the Doctor seems to involve a lot of running,’_ Charlie thought with a smile. If today was any example of his usual activities, it made sense that he could keep running for so long.   

“Come on, let’s go,” He said suddenly. Apparently he had found what he was listening for because he motioned for her to follow him as he crept down the hall.

Charlie wasn’t sure what the man – _Timelord_ – had heard, but followed silently anyways. He had to know where they were going, right? Besides, she didn’t have any other options open to her. Once the pounding that dominated her hearing went down, she began to hear muttering. Or was she just going insane?

But the fact was that people were talking. As they got closer to the source of the speaking, Charlie could make out what they were saying. She also decided that she wasn’t going insane. Not yet anyways.

“How could you lose her?!” A voice shouted. The two quickly identified it to belong to Andrews. The Doctor motioned for her to stay close to the wall as the sound of footsteps pacing filled the area. “Are you telling me that two highly intelligent chipped students couldn’t find one pathetic little girl!”

The Doctor smirked slightly at their description of the teen. From what he had seen she was anything but pathetic. Quiet and reserved yes, but only to her classmates and others that she didn’t know.

In his opinion she was smart and caring despite the things she had to go through. Speaking of the teen, he glanced over to her, only to find a look of offense making a home on her features. He almost laughed.

“I am not a pathetic little girl,” She mouthed to him, “and I saw you smiling.” The corner of her lips twitched upwards slightly for a fraction of a second. Deciding that they could always chat later, the duo decided to focus on the conversation at hand once more.

“She is clever. We will find her,” One student responded. The voice made Charlotte’s eyes widen in both surprise and horror – more from surprise though. She knew that voice all too well.

It was Isabelle.

“You better,” Andrews replied, “after all, that was the only reason we needed you.”

Charlotte curled her hands tightly into fists, digging her nails into the soft skin of her palms. At first she was upset, but her emotions spiralled into fury quickly. How dare they? How dare they do that to her friend?! She was more than some pawn in their game! What gave them the right to toy with all of those student’s lives?! To toy with her life?!

The Doctor looked over and saw a flash of pain on the teens face. Observing her carefully, he saw it quickly change to anger before any sort of expression disappeared altogether. He was confused for a brief moment.  He soon put the pieces together though: the girl that was speaking was her friend.

The Timelord reached over and took her hand gently, waiting for her to lash out. Instead, her eyes only widened and she tensed up for a moment. After a few seconds her shoulders relaxed, realizing that it was just the Doctor and she wasn’t in any danger. He squeezed her hand gently and smiled, which she returned half-heartedly before pulling her hand away.

“We have already located her,” Isabelle droned in her monotone voice, which caught both of their interests.

“And where is she?”

“The Daniel boy has got her.”

It took half a second for the Doctor to understand and a second longer for Charlie to comprehend what Isabelle had just said. The Timelord spun around quickly, only to find Charlie struggling against the student that had to be Daniel. She caught sight of something behind him and shouted something, but it was rendered incoherent due to a hand snapping over her mouth.

It didn’t really matter though. He found out soon enough when two students threw him against a wall, holding him there. The Doctor struggled against their grip, but found that he couldn’t move enough to free himself.

“Doctor!” Charlie called. It seemed that the kid – Daniel – had realized that she had begun to hold her breath and removed his hand. “Doctor!” Her voice was getting fainter as she was being dragged farther and farther away from the one who had promised to protect her.

“Charlie!” He shouted, but it was muffled. “Charlie, I’ll find you! I promise! You’ll be fine!”

“Do not be stupid Doctor,” Isabelle said, “she’s going to be chipped and you can’t do anything about it.”

“No,” He said, determination lacing his words, “she’s not going to be chipped. Do you know why?”

Isabelle looked at the other student before looking at him. It was obvious that the pair of them had been caught off guard due to their grips loosening slightly. It didn’t matter though; it was enough for him.

 “Why?”

“Because I won’t let her get chipped,” He remarked as he swung his arm around, sonic in hand, and pressed it to her temple for a second, effectively disconnecting the chip’s signal to her brain. Doing the same to the other student, he paused for a moment to make sure the two were alright. They were for the most part, just disoriented.

After knowing the two would be fine, he ran in the direction that he saw Charlotte being dragged away.

**. . .**

Charlie stopped shouting after the Doctor was out of her sight and instead turned her attention towards attempting to break out of the boy’s grip. She knew that her attempts were in vain, but it was better than just being dragged along helplessly. Her struggles had hindered the chipped student for a moment before he tightened his grip and continued lugging her to who-knows-where.

After a while, Daniel had stopped dragging her and shoved the girl into a room. Charlotte stumbled but thankfully didn’t fall over. When she regained her balance, grey eyes met the cool brown of her principal. She scanned the room quickly, looking for any exits. The door was out; there were no windows, and no other ways out. What was in the room though, were a table and a metal chair occupying the center of the room. On closer inspection, she found cuffs for arms and legs.  

“So nice of you to finally join us Charlotte,” He smirked and motioned for the teen to take a seat in the chair. She raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms.

“Thanks but no thanks. After all, the oldest should really sit down first, don’t you think?” She scorned, motioning for him to take the seat. “Don’t want to strain yourself. You’ve been standing for what, a whole minute now?”

Andrews laughed, clapping slowly so that the sound echoed in the room. “You always did have quite a mouth. Never knew when to speak and when to bite your tongue. Some things never change, do they?”

“I really hope your face does,” Charlie shot back with a smile.

“Is that any way to talk to your elders?” Andrews mocked, clicking his tongue, “I think that calls for a detention young lady.”

Before she could comprehend what was happening, Charlotte was shoved into the chair. The cuffs snapped shut around her wrists and ankles before she could lift a finger. Despite knowing it wouldn’t do much good, she struggled against her restraints for a few moments. After finding out that the cuffs allowed almost no room for her to move, Charlotte ceased her efforts.

“So, what’s going to happen now?” She asked, raising her eyebrow. “Whatever it is, wrap it up quickly, I have plans.” Her words were laced with sarcasm, frustrated with the loss of her limbs.

“Oh really? What sort of plans are those?” Andrews asked, turning around to grab something. Charlie tried to crane her neck and catch a glimpse of what he was doing, but sat normally as soon as he turned around again.

“Not much. Just working a double-shift tonight and wanted to catch a book sale nearby before that. Also, I don’t think you have much time left,” Charlie said casually.

Andrews turned partially for a moment and raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I have enough time? I’ve got all the time in the world.”

This time, it was Charlotte’s turn to laugh. “Isn’t it obvious? The Doctor will be here to get me,” She smirked.

“And what makes you so sure?”

“I just know he will,” Charlie said, more confidently than she felt. In reality, she didn’t just blindly trust that the man – _Timelord_ – would come and save her. She didn’t really know if he would show up at all. He said he would, but what if he wasn’t able to?

“Just like you to just put your trust in him,” Andrews commented, look at her in distaste, “it’s honestly pathetic, even if he is – no, I won’t tell you what he is,” He caught himself.

“What? That he’s a Timelord?” Charlie replied, though she was confused. What was he babbling on about? “Why would that make me trust him more? Keep talking! You and the Victorian man never say enough!” Her confusion changed to frustration quickly. Why was she the only one out of the loop?

“It’s too early in your timelines. Besides, it doesn’t matter anymore,” He replied, grabbing a chip from his pocket and inspecting it. “This one was made special for you. Perfected so that you’ll listen to whoever we hand you off to. What do you think?”

Charlotte was about to use a few choice words to explain exactly what she thought about it when another voice spoke from the doorway.

“I think that it’s time you let her out of that chair,” The Doctor remarked, tossing his screwdriver in the air with one hand. Daniel was nowhere in sight. Charlotte let out a breath that she didn’t realize she was holding.

“About time you showed up. I was getting worried,” Charlie commented, giving him a slight grin. The Doctor returned it for a moment before turning his attention to Andrews.

“What do you plan to do Doctor?” Andrews asked, grabbing something from the table that resembled a staple gun.

“You are NOT getting near me with that thing,” Charlotte protested.

“Save the day of course. What’s the point of this Andrews, honestly?” The Doctor asked, heading into the room and straight up to the man, yanking the object out of his hand. He then proceeded to walk to the door and toss it out before walking past Charlie on his way back in, passing her the sonic. “Explain to me what you could possibly want with a bunch of high school students.”

“We didn’t want the students,” Andrews scoffed, “we wanted the girl. It would have gone fine if you hadn’t shown up. Mind you, we thought you’d be older.”

“We, whose this ‘we’ you keep talking about? Who’s working with you?” The Timelord asked, buying Charlie some time. Meanwhile, the girl began to release herself from her bonds.

“An enemy of yours. Well, many of your enemies,” Andrews explained. “They hired me to get the girl, remove her from your timeline altogether if needed.”

“Why did they want Charlie? What is she to me? Why would they want her?” The Doctor was confused. Charlie was just a kid, a student. How could his enemies possibly know her? More importantly, what did she become that made his numerous enemies want her?

“They wanted to use her as a tool against you. You could never hurt her,” Andrews smirked. “Now, I’m done talking to you,” He said, pulling something out of his jacket.

All Charlie needed to know was that it looked remarkably similar to a gun.

“Doctor, let’s go!” She shouted and tossed him the sonic before they both sprinted as fast as they could out of the room. They could hear footsteps from all directions heading straight for them. They had to change direction twice just to make sure they didn’t get shot.

“Not that way, this way,” The Doctor whispered, grabbing her hand and tugging her down another hallway. She stumbled during the transition, almost falling over. “Try to stay upright!”

“Because I’m obviously choosing to fall over, aren’t I?!” She shot back as they stopped for breath. The footsteps had stopped and now she was worried. “Doctor, the footsteps-“

“Yes, they’ve stopped, I know,” The Doctor cut across her. “Listen, there’s a staircase nearby. I want you to run up to the main school as fast as you can and leav-”

“Forget that, I’m not leaving you here by yourself,” Charlie cut across firmly. She had left him alone last time and he ended up locked in a room after being knocked out. No, she was going to leave when he was going to.

The Doctor sighed, trying to figure out a way to convince her. Teenagers could be so frustrating! “Listen, I can distract them and you can leave and return to a normal life. I can get rid of them and you can go catch up with Isabelle-”

“So you can get locked in another room? Or shot? He has a bloody gun, there’s no way I’m leaving without you and nothing you can say can change my mind, got it?” The girl cut across, looking him in the eye.

The Timelord looked as if he was about to argue, but closed his mouth quickly. He saw in her eyes that she was determined and wouldn’t leave until she wanted to. He nodded, accepting her decision. “Alright, fine, you can stay. We have to figure out how to stop Andrews.”

Charlotte’s attention was split between trying to help the Doctor and the foreboding feeling that was settling in her stomach as they began walking again. “Doctor,” She whispered. The Timelord kept rambling to himself. “Doctor,” She repeated, a bit louder. This time, she had caught his attention. “I have a bad feeling.”

The Doctor looked over at her and smiled slightly, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Everything will be ok Charlie. I have you looking after me, don’t I?” The words received a small smile from the teen. There was little time to stand still though as the sound of footsteps approaching them filled the halls once more. He grabbed the teen’s hand and crept along cautiously.

When they had reached a T in the hallways, the Doctor checked the right one before letting Charlie walk ahead of him. Curious, the Timelord, walked into the left corridor a bit, listening to see if he could hear anyone approaching.

He sensed them too late.

“Hello Doctor.”

When the man turned around, Andrews was pointing the gun at him. He raised his hands in surrender, hoping that he wouldn’t shoot but – more importantly – that he didn’t turn around and see Charlotte. He met the teen’s eyes and tried to tell her to escape while she could. It seemed that she was rooted to the spot.

“Let’s not do anything rash Andre-” The Doctor started.

“Rash? You really think I’m going to kill you?” Andrews asked, looking at him as if he were an idiot. “Oh no, I don’t need blood on my hands. I’ll leave that to your enemies. The gun is set to stun only.”

The Doctor listened to the man, but watched from the corner of his eye as Charlotte slid off her boot as quietly as she could and crept over. He wasn’t sure what the girl was planning, but he was sure it was crazy.

“So you can chip innocent students and hand a girl to her doom, but you don’t want blood on your hands?” The Doctor questioned, buying the teen some time. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

“Handing over and killing are two very different things Doctor,” Andrews replied. At that moment, Charlie swung her boot as hard as she could and hit him in the side of the head, causing him to turn. She grabbed his arm quickly. What happened next though, the Doctor really didn’t expect.

Charlotte Jackson bit his wrist to make him let go of the gun.

As soon as the weapon was dropped, the teen snatched it up quickly and pointed it at Andrews. The Doctor whipped out his sonic as well. 

“Hands up where I can see them Andrews or I will use this,” Charlie threatened, spitting the taste of wrist out of her mouth. Andrews just laughed.

“What are you going to do, shoot me?”

A shot aimed between his feet was his answer.

“Yes, yes I will,” The teen replied. “Doctor, what do we do with him?” She asked, not taking her eyes off of her principal.

The Timelord, meanwhile, was momentarily stunned. “We’ll take him to his home planet, they’ll deal with him,” He replied. Charlie glanced over at him for a second.

“Would it be easier if he was stunned?”

“I suppose so,” The Timelord replied slowly.

“There’s no nee-”

Charlie made sure the gun was set to stun and shot him.

“Charlotte! Was that really necessary?!” The Doctor cried, shocked. The teen looked at him and shrugged.

“The man screwed around with my life. Besides, I didn’t want to have to listen to him talk,” She admitted, which made the Timelord laugh.

“Was biting him really needed?” He asked as they dragged the man along.

“Did you want him to shoot you? I did it for you,” She said before adding, “Ungrateful git.” A smile was accompanied in its delivery, so the Doctor knew she didn’t really mean it.

“Well, thank you for biting your principal Charlie,” He said with a smile. Despite the situation being so dire at the moment, the actual event was quite laughable.

“Let’s just not talk about it. And you’re welcome.”

**. . .**

The Doctor had asked Charlie to stay outside the school while he took care of the other chipped students and went to go return Andrews. Upon his return though, the girl was gone.

“Charlie? Charlie, are you there?” He called out, hoping for a reply. After all that, he didn’t even get a goodbye?

Dejected, the Doctor walked back into the TARDIS. Walking to the console, he thought about where he was going to pick up Amy and Rory from. Surely they wouldn’t mind having a bit more time to themselves. . .

“Take me to see her Sexy,” The Doctor said with a grin. He flew his ship, but allowed her to choose the destination. After all of this, he was sure his old girl would allow him to say goodbye.

**. . .**

“Charlotte Jackson, where the _hell_ have you been?!” _Smack._

“I –I’m sorry Mum-” She whimpered.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it!”  Sarah Jackson shouted, giving the girl another slap. This had been going on ever since Charlotte had received her mother’s text at the school fifteen minutes ago and she ran home.

Right now she wished she had just stayed and waited for the Doctor.

“Do you understand how long I’ve been waiting?! You father didn’t have dinner! He’s out right now, getting something to eat!” A punch collided with her jaw and Charlotte stumbled.

“I said I was sorry! Please stop!” Charlie cried out, tears running down her face.

“Don’t. Talk. BACK!” Sarah screamed, punctuating each word with a hit. Charlie didn’t blame her mother. She didn’t tell her that she was going to be late. It was all her fault.

So Charlie just stood there as her mother took out all her anger on the girl. It didn’t help that she had drunk a glass of whiskey before this started.

Once the hitting had stopped, Charlie sank to the floor, arms covering her head as her tears mixed with the blood that was now running from her nose. For a few moments, no one said anything. The, all of a sudden, Sarah closed her hand around the girl’s arm tightly and walked to the back door, throwing her onto the grass.

“I should’ve just left you in the orphanage! Now spend the night out here thinking about what you’ve done!”

Once the door was slammed shut, Charlie picked herself up and went to grab her spare bag. There was a rag and a bottle of water, which she used to clean up the blood. After her face was cleaned, she rested her head on her knees and cried.

She kept crying as sobs wracked her body. Why did she have to upset her mother? Why did she have to mess everything up?

And now she had just found out that she had been adopted.

Which made her feel worse about being such a burden.

She didn’t notice a loud, wheezing noise. All she heard was her mother’s words, over and over again.

**. . .**

The Doctor’s face split into a huge grin when the TARDIS had landed. Without bothering to check the monitor, he strolled to the doors and threw them open, finding himself in a backyard. What really caught his eye though, was a crying figure.

It was Charlotte.

Letting his feet guide him, he ran to the girl, kneeling beside her and pulling her into a hug gently. He was surprised at how quickly she responded, clutching to his jacket for dear life, sobbing into his chest.

“Shh, it’s ok Charlie, it’s all ok,” He whispered to her, rubbing her back as he did so. She pulled away enough to see him once she had regained her composure. Charlie wiped at her eyes, keeping them fixed on the ground.

Meanwhile, the Doctor looked her over carefully. He counted every bruise, every scar, and every spot he could see traces of blood. Who could do this to their child?!

“What happened Charlie?” He asked softly, putting a hand under her chin so that she’d meet his eyes. She sighed, almost as if she was going to break down again.

“It wasn’t her fault. I wasn’t home on time and I didn’t have dinner ready. She just drank a bit, that’s all. She adopted me when no one else wanted me and I screwed up!” A few sobs escaped her lips as the Doctor watched, both hearts torn in two. How could she blame herself, when it was clearly that woman’s fault?

“Charlie, see that blue box over there?” He asked, pointing to it. The girl nodded, wondering why such a thing was in her yard and how she hadn’t notice it before.

“Well, it’s my TARDIS – Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. She’s my ship. She can go through space and time. Anytime, and anyplace. Understand?” The girl nodded, looking at the ship with a hint of awe.

“Can she really Doctor?” She asked, looking back at him. He smiled fondly and nodded.

“Yes, she can,” The Timelord confirmed. “What do you say? Will you come and travel with me?” He asked, watching the girl carefully, eyes full of hope. He hoped with both his hearts that she would say yes, that he could take her away from here and show her the beauty of life; show her that there was good out there. He stood up and extended a hand for her to take.

Charlie sat there for a moment, looking between the blue police box, the Timelord, and her house. She could change her entire life at this moment if she wanted to. Or she could just refuse and continue with the same routine. Would it take her back to the bridge? Finally, she took his hand and stood up, grabbing her bag.

“How could I say no?” She said with a small grin, which the Doctor returned with a huge one.

“Come on then Miss Charlotte Jackson!” He said excitedly, running into the TARDIS. Charlie followed close behind and looked around in awe as soon as she was inside.

The TARDIS swung her doors shut gently as the girl ran around the console room, wanting to look at everything. The Doctor simply let his ship choose the coordinates and fly herself so he could watch as the teen’s eyes lit up with wonder.

“This is amazing,” Charlie marvelled. “She’s amazing!”

The TARDIS made a happy sound and the Doctor laughed slightly as the teen spun around, looking for the source.

“It was the TARDIS,” He explained. “She likes you.”

“The TARDIS is alive?!” Charlie exclaimed, her grin growing wider – if that was even possible. The Doctor nodded.

“Yes, she is. Come here,” He motioned for Charlotte to stand beside him. He placed her hand on the console and the TARDIS hummed.

“Remarkable,” She whispered under her breath. “Aren’t you wonderful old girl?”

“I think she likes you more than me,” The Doctor said playfully. He felt happy when he heard the girl laugh in response.

“Thank you Doctor,” She said, looking up at him. The Doctor smiled and ruffled her blonde curls slightly.

“You haven’t seen the best yet,” He said with a kind smile. “Now, what about some dinner?”

After pointing out the kitchen, the two raced each other there, laughing and elbowing past each other.

When the Doctor showed Charlie her room on the TARDIS, he felt as if their little family was complete. Him, Amy, Rory, and Charlie.

“Goodnight Doctor,” She said with a yawn, snuggling into the sheets.

“Goodnight Charlie,” The Doctor replied, smiling as he shut off the light and headed to the library for some late night reading.

And to think about how he was going to tell Amelia Pond and her fiancé about their new addition.


	7. Chapter 7

A mane of curly blonde hair poked out of the covers, eyes barely open as she reached out blindly for her glasses. After a few moments of struggling, she had managed to locate them and shoved them onto her face, sitting up in the bed as she put them on and yawned, wincing as pain shot through her arm for a moment.

Once the sleep had left her eyes, Charlie looked around the room and realized that she wasn’t anywhere that she recognized. Panicking for a moment, the events of yesterday flooded back into her mind. She was on the TARDIS and none of that had been a dream.

Getting up, she shuffled to the door across the room that led to her own bathroom. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Charlie paused to really look at herself in the mirror. It was only natural of course – she was a teenager and was going through ‘that stage.’

But she wasn’t focusing on her nose or her eye colour of if she had a pimple, nor was she fretting about her features as she did so. Instead, she was looking at the purplish marks blooming on her skin.

Charlotte sighed and checked the drawers, hoping to find something to help hide the bruises, but shut them when she found no such thing. Tying her hair back into a ponytail, she walked back into the main room. Grabbing the bag that was sitting at the end of the bed on the floor, she rummaged through it only to discover that the shirt she had packed had holes in it.

Looking down at her red plaid pants and blank black shirt, she decided it was acceptable for the morning and opened the door, heading out. Trying to remember the way she had come from last night, she followed the hallway and thankfully made it to the console room.

“Morning TARDIS,” She said with a slight smile, heading down the steps to the console.

“What, no hello for me?” The Doctor asked, poking his head out from where he was working. Charlie smiled and leaned over the edge.

“Good morning Doctor,” She said with a grin, which the Doctor returned as left what he was doing and walked up to see her. “What were you doing?” Charlie asked.

“Just a few repairs on the old girl,” He said, patting the console. “Can’t exactly take her to a shop, now can I?”

“That might cause some problems,” Charlie smiled.

“Planning to wear your pajamas all day?” He asked, looking at her clothes. “Seems like a wonderful idea. I should grab my pajamas too.”

“As wonderful as that sounds,” Charlie started, laughing slightly, “That’s not why I’m wearing them. My clothes have holes in them.”

The Doctor waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about that Charlie. I’ll show you where the wardrobe is and you can take your pick. Keep them in your room if you’d like to as well.”

“Should we start making breakfast?” She asked, before glancing around. “Where’s the kitchen?”

“Forget the kitchen,” The Doctor grinned, grabbing her hand. “I know a place that you’d _really_ like.” He began running with her trailing behind him before slowing down and turning slightly to look at her. “Close your eyes. And no peeking!”

Charlie raised her eyebrow, a sideways grin on her face before doing as she was told. Once her eyes were closed, the Doctor threw open the doors and led her in.

“Voila!” He shouted, throwing his arms out. A grin was placed firmly on his face. Charlie slowly opened one eye, the other following quickly when she caught sight of where she was.

“Oh my,” She said breathlessly in awe. A grin creeped across the girl’s face as she ran to the nearest bookshelf, basking in the never-ending room of books. Looking at a few of the book titles, the teen ran to the middle of the library, trying to take in the vastness of it all.

The grin never left the girl’s face as she took in the tiny details of the library. The carpets were red, the ceiling high, the bookshelves numerous. She turned to find the Doctor still standing there, a look of expectancy on his face.

“So? What do you think Miss Jackson?” The Doctor asked. “Quite a library, huh?”

Charlotte rushed over and gave him a hug, which he returned. “It’s wonderful,” The teen replied. “No, better than wonderful, it’s magnificent,” She rambled slightly and the Doctor smiled.

“Well, I’m glad you like it. Of course I knew you would. Much more than any of my other companions,” The Doctor said. “You’re free to come here whenever you like. I may just help you find some books that I think you’d like.”

“I’d like to see you try to keep me away from here,” Charlie joked slightly. “That’d be nice Doctor.”

She thought about what he said – about having other companions. Of course she couldn’t be the first; that would be ridiculous. As if someone could travel alone for so many years. But it did make her wonder if he had any other companions currently.

“We should probably make breakfast now, shouldn’t we?” She asked, looking up at him. He nodded slightly.

“Yes, I suppose we should,” The Timelord agreed. “Amy and Rory should be waking up soon. I can’t wait to introduce you all!” He exclaimed gleefully. Charlie laughed.

“For over 900 years old, you sure do act like a toddler,” Charlie commented, walking out of the library.

A look of offense crossed the Doctor’s face. “Oi! I think I act very mature.”

“I rest my case,” Charlie said, turning around. She laughed slightly when he began pouting. “Come on you big baby. Where’s the kitchen?”

The Doctor smirked slightly and ran ahead of her, pulling her hair out of her ponytail as he ran past. “Follow me short stuff!” He called behind him.

Charlie put her hands on her hips before laughing and sprinting after him. “I’ll get you for that old man!”

“I’m not that old!”

“You’re ancient!”

“OI!”

Once they got to the kitchen, Charlie began pulling out ingredients to make pancakes while the Doctor grabbed the utensils. After about half an hour, five minutes of flicking flour, and a mess that was _mostly_ the Doctor’s fault, there was a decent stack of pancakes in front of them.

“I’ll just go wake them up now so they can help clean,” The Doctor said as he headed towards the exit. Charlie nodded her head to show that she had heard him, still making some more pancakes.

Smiling slightly, he walked to their room and knocked on the door loudly. “I’m coming in!” He called before turning the doorknob and walking in.

The sight that welcomed him was two companions with bed head, still in their bunk beds.

“Doctor, what time is it?” Amy asked, trying to stay awake.

“No idea! But breakfast is ready,” The Timelord replied. Rory got out of his bunk, stretching.

“Well, I’m up. Wait a second,” Rory paused, looking at the alien with a mix of worry and surprise, “you made breakfast?”

“Well, I helped Charlie,” The Doctor said before shutting the door. “Listen to me, the both of you.” He waited until Amy had climbed out of her bunk and the two were focused on him.

“You both know Charlie already, but she doesn’t really know you. Try to be open to her, alright? She’s been –” The Doctor sighed, not really sure how to continue.

“What happened Doctor?” Amy asked, curious as to why he stopped. Rory had a look on his face that told the Doctor that he had a few ideas as to how the sentence was going to end.

“She’s been bullied and abused, both by students and her adoptive parents,” The Doctor concluded, watching as the emotions flitted across his companions faces. Amy looked more angry and confused as to how a person could do that while Rory looked more worried and empathetic towards the situation.

“So no bringing up home life or parents or anything like that, right?” Rory asked. The Doctor nodded his confirmation.

“Exactly. Now hurry up and get ready,” The Doctor said as he walked out and back to the kitchen. After ten minutes, Amy and Rory joined them, still in their pajamas.

“Excellent!” The Timelord exclaimed, pausing in setting the table with Charlie and dragging the two over. “Charlie, this is Amelia Pond and Rory Williams. Amy, Rory, this is Charlie,” He introduced them to each other.

Amy smiled warmly and held out a hand to shake. “Hello Charlie. Nice to meet you,” She said. The teen shook her hand gently, remembering where she had seen the redhead and the man before.

“It’s nice to meet you too Amelia,” The blonde said politely. Rory smiled slightly.

“Just call her Amy. It’s going to be nice getting to know you Charlie,” He said, shaking her hand. “Let me guess; Charlie is short for Charlotte, isn’t it?” Rory asked. Charlie nodded.

“Bang on Rory,” She replied before motioning to the table. “Hope you two are hungry because we made quite a few pancakes.”

The four sat down to eat breakfast. The Doctor sat at the head of the table, while the girls were on either side and Rory sat beside his fiancée. The conversation was slow at first. No one really wanted to start any table talk, but with some encouragement from the Timelord, the conversation began picking up.

“Let me grab those,” Rory offered as he picked up the dishes before Charlie got the chance to. The teen smiled slightly before looking at her clothes.

“Doctor, I think it’s about time you show me that wardrobe,” She said, looking over to the man. Noticing that her shirt was covered in flour from earlier, he nodded and stood up.

“That’s probably best. Follow me!”

**. . .**

“How many outfits can you cram into one room?” Charlie asked as she wandered through the wardrobe. The Doctor emerged from the depths of 14th century clothing.

“As many as you want,” He replied before pulling off a tutu that was clinging to his jacket, “and some that you don’t want.”

“Doctor, Charlie, are you both in here?!” Amy called, fighting her way through the forests of useless costumes.

“Over here!” Charlie called, looking through some of the clothes. The redhead joined them after ten minutes.

“You really have to clean up in here,” She told the Timelord, panting as if she had fought an entire battle. Which she had.

“It’s perfectly organized in here,” The Doctor defended. The two girls looked at each other, raising their eyebrows. Charlie spotted something a smirked slightly. She grabbed the object and placed it on the Timelord’s head.

“Oi, very funny you two,” The Doctor moped as the two burst into laughter.

“Alright Princess,” Amy said, taking a look at the tiara that was sitting on the man’s head, “you go ahead and I’ll help Charlie find some clothes.”

“Sounds good to me,” He replied, taking off the tiara and placing an oversized top hat on the younger girl’s head, which slipped to cover her eyes. “See you two soon.”

“Alright, let’s find you some decent clothes,” Amy announced as the two split up, looking for articles of clothing that they liked.

The Doctor and Rory, meanwhile, began playing a game of cards while waiting for the girls. They two sat in the console room and played for about forty minutes before Amy showed up.

“Nice timing,” Rory commented as he beat the Doctor yet again.

“About time you showed up,” The alien replied before noticing the teen was not with her. “Where’s Charlie?”

“She went to change,” Amy replied, leaning against the railing. “She should be here soon.”

“How long does it take you to get ready?” The Doctor asked, exasperated. Rory looked over at him with a knowing look.

“Women can take forever, believe me,” He replied.

“What was that Rory?” Amy asked, eyebrow raised.

“Nothing,” He replied, shooting the Doctor an ‘I told you so’ look. Before Rory could get into any serious trouble though, Charlie showed up, wearing black jeans, a purple shirt that read ‘Music is My Life’ and a black leather jacket.

“So?” Charlie asked, spinning around.

“Perfect,” Amy said with a smile.

“Looks good,” Rory replied. The Doctor gave a thumbs-up before grabbing her wrist and dragging her to the console.

“So, Miss Charlotte Jackson, all of time and space ahead of you,” The Doctor started. “Where do you want to go? Past or future? Earth or a new planet?”

Charlie’s eyes lit up and the only one that looked more excited than her was the Doctor. She thought about it for about two seconds.

“Future and definitely a new planet,” She replied, excited. The Doctor rubbed his hands together, grinning.

“I know just the place! You’ll love it, all of you,” He said as he began his little dance around the console, flying his ship. “It’s a beautiful planet, with several moons and the seas are gorgeous!” The wheezing sound of the TARDIS filled the air as they flew through the time vortex. “Though, they do cover most of the planet, so the locals made a deal with the Halohawks.”

“What exactly are Halohawks?” Rory asked.

“They’re horse-like creatures that can fly,” The Doctor replied.

“Do they have wings, like Pegasus?” Charlie asked, voice barely containing her excitement.

“Right to the important questions, aren’t you Charlie?” The Timelord replied with a grin, tapping her nose. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

Finally, the ship landed and the Doctor stood in front of the doors.

“Welcome to Kandalath!” He announced, throwing the doors open. “After you madam,” He said, letting the teen walk out first before hopping out behind her.

Charlie was mildly aware of the people getting out of the ship behind her, but her eyes were focused on the task of trying to look at everything at once. The planet was more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. The sky was aflame with purple and pink, recreating the colour scheme of a swirling nebula. Looking at the vast sky, she could count at least five moons – if not more – all varying in size.  

The surface was just as interesting as the sky above their heads. She could see the ocean – well, what she assumed to be an ocean – tossing and turning, waves crashing on each other for what looked like forever.

“It’s beautiful Doctor,” Amy said, hushed. She turned on the spot, wanting to take in everything as well.

“Is that really an ocean?” Rory asked, taking precautions. After all, looks could be deceiving.

“Yes, that really is an ocean Rory,” The Doctor replied, walking out and turning so everyone could see him. “Kandalath is covered in oceans. Well, not covered – mostly covered, yes. It also has several moons, as you can see,” The Timelord pointed out, gesturing with open arms to the sky.

While the adults were taking a look around, walking a bit to take in all the sights, the Doctor walked over to Charlie, who crouched at the edge of the ocean. He crouched down beside her and flicked some of the water at her. She wrinkled her nose and smiled slightly, looking over at him.

“So? What do you think?” He asked, looking out at the ocean before glancing at her.

Charlie sighed happily and watched the waves crash on each other. “It’s wonderful. I mean, look at all of this,” She remarked, gesturing around her.

“I’m glad you like it,” The Doctor grinned, tapping her nose lightly, “but wouldn’t you rather see the planet from above?” He asked, standing up.

“On the – oh, what were they called? Yes, Halohawks!” Charlie asked, jumping up. The Doctor grinned and nodded, noticing how the teen looked like a little kid at Christmas. Come to think of it, she had looked like that the entire time.

“Of course! Amy! Rory! Come on!” The Doctor called before grabbing the girl’s hand and leading her away. The couple ran to keep up with the teen and the Timelord.


	8. Chapter 8

The Doctor led Charlie and the others to a place that had a countless number of nests, and silvery-white creatures that resembled horses roaming and giving rides. Around their practically glowing eyes were black markings. There were also figures walking around that she assumed were the people who lived here.

“These are Halohawks?” Rory asked, looking at the Timelord. He nodded in response.

“Yes, these are Halohawks. They give rides to the Kandalath in exchange for their young being fed and taken care of,” The Doctor explained.

“So they have a choice?” Amy wondered aloud, tearing her gaze away from the creatures to look at him. Once again, the Timelord nodded.

Charlie paid only a bit of attention to what the others were saying. Her eyes were transfixed by the sight in front of her. She noticed several red humanoid creatures walking around, feeding the young Halohawks and taking care of their needs, just as the Doctor had said.

As the adults kept talking amongst themselves, the teen walked ahead to get a better look. She only stopped when she felt something brush up against her leg.

Glancing down, she found a Halohawk – barely reaching her hip – looking up back at her, nuzzling her hand. Its coat was white rather than silver and the markings were grey around its green eyes, not black. It must have been just a baby. Hesitating slightly, she reached out her hand and petted the creature.

“Hey there little guy,” Charlie whispered, a smile on her face. “Where’s your mum?” The baby really was well behaved and she wouldn’t have minded it sticking around longer, but she didn’t want to get in trouble with its mother.

The Halohawk looked up at her and ran off a bit, stopping to turn around and see if she would follow him. Charlie glanced back at the adults and saw that they were talking with one of the caretakers. She shot the creature an apologetic look before walking back to them.

“She’s about this high, blonde hair, and she had black glasses. I swear she was here a min – Charlie!” The Doctor exclaimed, relieved. He pulled her into a hug. “Where were you?”

“I was just over there Doctor,” Charlie replied, pointing to where she had been moments ago. He nodded slightly, looking her over once before smiling. She noticed a Stetson sitting on his head and raised an eyebrow slightly. Maybe he had ran back to the TARDIS to get it.

“I don’t like it either,” Amy whispered to the girl. She looked at the redhead and smiled slightly. Charlie nodded her agreement, glancing back at the hat for a moment.

“Where did he get that thing anyways?” Charlie asked. Amy shrugged, unsure of that herself. But then again, you could never be sure with the Doctor.

“Somewhere from the depths of the TARDIS I imagine,” Amy replied before they had to stop their whispered conversation.

“Are you two done yet? Stetsons are cool!” The Doctor exclaimed. Charlie raised an eyebrow slightly and patted his back.

“They really aren’t Doctor,” She told him, breaking the news to him.

“Yes they are!”

“Alright kids, break it up,” Rory said, looking between the two before whispering to Charlie. “Just let him wear it for now. We’ll get rid of it later.”

Once everyone was quiet, the Timelord spoke again.

“This is Jando, one of the caretakers. He says we can take the Halohawks for a ride,” The Doctor said. “Would you like to?”

“Of course!” The teen replied, once again looking like a little child on Christmas. She noticed that Jando had golden, wing-like things where his ears should have been and a white tail – but who was she to judge? She must have looked just as weird to him as he did to her.

The Doctor grinned, rubbing his hands together. “Brilliant! Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!”

The three followed the overgrown toddler and Jando to a group of adult Halohawks, all with saddles on their back. The Doctor was the first to jump on, while Rory helped Amy and Jando gave Charlie a boost. Charlie was excited to ride the creatures earlier – now, she wasn’t so sure. She wanted to, but was starting to feel nervous.

“Just hold onto the reins tightly,” Jando advised her, noticing her nervousness. “She’s a gentle one; she won’t put up a fight. Just hold on tight and she’ll do the rest,” He said, offering a smile. Charlotte returned it, still a bit nervous, but feeling better.

“Thanks,” She said, wrapping her hands around the reins like he had shown. Before she knew it, they had kicked off and were soaring through the sky. Her nervousness had begun to fade as she caught the breathtaking sight below her.

The ocean looked so calm, so still. The waters changed from blue to aqua as they neared land – which was far behind them now. As the Halohawk she was riding dived downwards to allow her to touch the water, Charlie noticed the sky and moons being reflected in the water. She was at a loss for words at the sight.

“Yeeehhaaah!”

Charlie led her Halohawk back to the others quick enough to notice the Doctor, reins in one hand and the damn Stetson in the other. Rory and Amy went at a more relaxed pace as the Timelord proceeded to do loops. That’s when she had an idea.

Urging her Halohawk to go a bit faster, she caught up to the Doctor and snatched the hat from his hand, waving it above her head.

“Hey!” The Doctor exclaimed, but the smile on his face showed that he wasn’t mad. Charlie grinned.

“Catch me if you can old man!”

So the chase began between the two. Whenever the Doctor got too close, Amy would swoop in and take the hat to safety. Rory would weave in and out, just to cut off the Timelord. This game of back and forth continued on the ride back. It was only when they landed that the Doctor got his hat back from the teen.

“We win!” Amy exclaimed with a laugh, high-fiving Charlie. The teen smiled when Rory gave her thumbs up and she returned it. The Doctor seemed to be moping though, which made Charlie want to laugh. Rory noticed and gave him a pat on the back.

“The girls always win Doctor. Less painful that way,” Rory said, whispering the last part to the Timelord.

“And don’t you forget it,” Amy replied, having heard all of what Rory had just said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before noticing that Charlie was looking troubled.

“Doctor,” She whispered, nudging the Timelord.

He looked at her, but she didn’t give him time to talk. Motioning for him to stay quiet, Amy nodded in Charlie’s direction. She was looking out at the rest of the Halohawks as the Kandalath took care of them, but her expression was one of worry, even sadness.

The Doctor walked over to the girl silently, standing beside her. Neither one said a word to the other. Charlotte kept her gaze on the Halohawks while the Doctor kept his gaze on Charlie. He was so sure that she was enjoying herself. Hoping she was anyways.

All the Doctor wanted to do was make her forget about everything, make her happy and show her these amazing places to make up for all that had happened in her life that had made her want to take that leap that led to their first meeting. He felt responsible for her; it was as simple as that.

He didn’t notice that the teen was looking at him now, analyzing his feelings. He quickly shoved the thoughts away. The last thing he wanted was for the teen to think that he had brought her along out of responsibility.

“What’s wrong Charlie?” The Doctor asked so that just the two of them could hear. Charlie smiled slightly and reached up, fixing his hat that had been perching crooked on his head.

“Nothing’s wrong with me Doctor. I really do love this. It’s the Halohawks,” She explained, looking at the creatures. “They’re distressed.”

“How can you tell?” The Doctor asked. It wasn’t that he doubted the girl – he was curious as to how she pieced it together.

“The adults are pacing more than usual and aren’t listening to the Kandalath. The females keep going back to the nests, looking for something that they just can’t find and the males are getting agitated,” She explained as if it were obvious. Her tone wasn’t superior though – she just wanted to prove herself.

The Doctor looked for all of these things and found them, just like she had said. Now that he saw these things, he had to agree with Charlie’s conclusion; something was bugging the Halohawks. He smiled at Charlie and ruffled her hair.

“Good job Charlie. Come on you two,” He called out behind him before walking off. Charlie set off just as quick and the couple had to run to catch up.

“Jando, what’s wrong?” The teen asked the caretaker. Jando was petting a Halohawk, calming her down. The expression she wore was one of grief. Jando didn’t look much better – he seemed just as distressed as the creatures.

“Poachers,” Jando replied, shaking his head. "They’ve taken the eggs. The Halohawks are devastated.” The Halohawk he was petting cried out in despair. Charlie reached out and started petting her before she even knew it.

“Don’t worry Jando, we’ll find the eggs,” Rory said, comforting the man. Jando nodded, relaxing a bit.

“And we’ll get the poachers too,” Amy added.

“Thank you, all of you,” Jando replied, grateful.

“Don’t thank us just yet Jando,” The Doctor commented. “First we need to catch the poachers.”

“To catch the poachers, we’ll need a nest,” Charlie pointed out. The Doctor grinned and tapped her nose.

“Exactly.”

**. . .**

Ten minutes later, the four of them were lying in a nest, waiting silently. After another fifteen minutes, Amy propped herself up with her elbows.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” She asked, looking at the Timelord. Out of all the plans the man had had, this was definitely _not_ her favourite. Patience was something she had run out of waiting for her Raggedy Man to come back.

“Yes, now stay down and shut up!”

Amy gave him a look before sighing and doing what he told her. Meanwhile, Charlie and Rory were mouthing a conversation back and forth. It was mostly about how they were bored or hoping the eggs were alright and that they’d catch the poachers. Rory was hoping that they’d be able to have a proper conversation later.

Everyone had stopped what they were doing when they heard screeching noises heading straight for them. The four of them immediately stood up to find some very angry Halohawks heading for them.

“Ok, Doctor, what do we do?!” Amy asked, panicking slightly. The Doctor looked around, pulling out his sonic.

“Run?” He offered.

“Run where exactly?!” Rory pointed out. “We’re surrounded!”

“Oh for the love of – here!” Charlie said, grabbing the sonic and flicking the switch, covering her ears the best she could.

The others were doing the same as the Halohawks backed off. Charlie flicked the switch and the sound stopped. Tossing it back to the Doctor, she smiled slightly and hopped out of the nest to check on the Halohawks.

The Doctor was about to say something as his companions recovered from the sonic blast, but was distracted by something he saw from the corner of his eye. When he looked over, there was nothing there.

“Doctor? What’s wrong?” Rory asked, noticing the Timelord’s reaction first.

“Nothing, I just thought I saw something,” He said slowly, flicking the sonic on and off again. There were two people now visible, running away from the nest.

With the eggs.

The Doctor got on a Halohawk quickly and flew after the culprits. Charlie and the others followed close behind on their own Halohawks. The four of them managed to catch up to them, but the poachers were almost on their ship.

“Stop!” The Doctor yelled, catching the attention of the poachers. Almost perfectly in sync, Charlie took off her sneaker just as Amy took off her boot. The two proceeded to throw them at the poachers, hitting them as they tried to run.

When they were back on the ground, the Timelord immediately went to check the eggs, making sure that they were alright. Amy retrieved her boot and put it on, leaning on Rory for support. Meanwhile, Charlie grabbed her sneaker and proceeded to beat the poachers with it.

“What. Makes. You. Think. You. Can. Steal. Their. Children!” Charlie yelled at them, punctuating every word with a blow of her shoe. “You disgust me!”

Amy and Rory looked on, amused with the scene and cheering the teen on. The Timelord looked up, torn between stopping her and letting her continue. After ten minutes, the Doctor finally had some mercy on the poachers and led Charlie away.

“That’s enough now Charlie, alright?” The Doctor asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. He could see that the whole act had upset the girl. It had been upsetting for all of them – stealing someone’s child was something to be upset about – but it seemed to bug the teen more. Kissing her forehead, the Timelord decided to save it for later.

“Amy, Rory, I want you both to take the eggs back to where they belong. Charlie and I will send these two back and get the others,” The Doctor said, assigning them jobs. The couple got to work, making sure to handle the eggs carefully.

The Doctor and the teen each got onto a Halohawk, grabbed a poacher each, and threw them in the water close to their ship. Retrieving the other stolen eggs, the two set their course back. Neither one spoke during the journey. When they landed, they were pulled into a hug by Jando.

“I cannot thank you all enough for what you’ve done,” The caretaker thanked, motioning for the other Kandalath to return all the eggs to their respective nests.

“Don’t mention it,” The Doctor dismissed, waving his hand.

“It was our pleasure,” Rory added, shaking his hand. Soon the four were back on the TARDIS, deciding to relax for the remainder of the day.

Amy went to go take a shower, Charlie went to go change, and Rory had begun deciding what to make for dinner. The Doctor picked up his work on the TARDIS, but ended up reading instead. He could hear his companions walking above him and smiled slightly to himself.

It was nice to have a full TARDIS instead of an empty one. He knew all too well how that felt.

The Doctor decided not to come out for a while. He wanted his companions to have time to bond with each other. He already had some time to bond with the teen, but Amy and Rory didn’t have that same chance.

Just then, he heard footsteps that could only belong to the youngest and smiled. She was heading to the kitchen. He turned the page, smile still on his face.

**. . .**

Rory looked up when he heard footsteps and say Charlie standing in the entrance, playing with the sleeve of the oversized black sweater she was wearing. He smiled.

“Hey Charlie. Do you need something?” He asked. She shook her head and looked up.

“I was wondering if you needed some help,” Charlie mumbled, rubbing the back of her head. Rory knew that this would be a good chance to bond with her, or at least get to know her. He really did want to do that – he wanted to help the girl; it was part of his nature.

“I could use some help. Mind cutting up those peppers?” He asked, waving over to them. Charlie nodded and walked over, grabbing a knife and beginning her task.

“Do you cook often?” He asked, wanting to start some conversation. He could already tell the answer by how fast she was going through the peppers.

“Yeah, I cooked a lot. Baked a bit too,” She answered, finishing off the peppers and cutting the onions for him.

“That’s nice. What did you bake?” Rory inquired. He was still working on the meat for their stir fry, cutting it carefully while still listening to the girl.

“Lots of things,” She replied, putting the vegetables to the side. “Pies, cakes, muffins, soufflés, pretty much anything I could get a recipe for.”

“Sounds like you were good,” Rory commented. “Which is perfect because I don’t know how to bake. It’d probably be as bad as Amy’s cooking.”

Charlie laughed and Rory grinned as they kept working. “Alright, my turn to ask a question,” The teen said, looking over at the man. “What do you do for a living?”

“Well, I’m a nurse,” Rory replied, tossing the meat into the pan. “I worked in a hospital for a while before all of this happened,” He said, motioning around the room. Charlie knew he meant to say ‘before the Doctor.’

“Any family waiting for you? Siblings, cousins?” She asked, handing the spices to Rory.

“Nah. Just my dad,” Rory replied. “What about you?” He asked, trying to sound as casual as he could about it. Charlie was quiet and when he glanced over, wearing an expression of sadness.

She quickly changed it to a half-smile. “Nope. Don’t have a family. Took me a while to figure that out.”

Rory turned down the stove and looked at the girl. “Charlie, look at me,” He said, placing his hands on her shoulders. She met his kind gaze hesitantly with her own watery one, a flash of fear in her eyes. He smiled at her to let her know that he wouldn’t hurt her.

“We’re your family, ok? I know you don’t know me or Amy that well, but we’ll be your family. We care about you Charlie, a lot. It’s obvious that the Doctor does too,” Rory said, looking her in the eye. He hoped she understood where he was going with this.

“I care about all of you a lot too,” She half-mumbled. Rory warmed up a bit hearing that.

“That’s what makes us a family. We all care about each other a lot. Know that none of us will ever hurt you,” He said gently. “We’d probably beat up anyone that tries to hurt you though.”

This earned a slight chuckle from the teen. “I appreciate it,” She said before turning to look after the stir fry, blinking back tears. Not that she would let anyone know the truth.

As the two cooked in silence, the teen playfully bumped into the man a couple times. Each time, Rory would smile and bump her back. It was a comfortable silence – they just enjoyed each other’s company. While they waited for the rice to finish cooking, they started up some conversation again.

“How’d you meet him?” Charlie asked, nodding her head in the direction of the console room.

“My fiancée, Amy. He showed up at my bachelor party and – um – said some things,” Rory cleared his throat, turning a bit red at this. Charlotte didn’t push for answers, thankfully. “He took us to Venice for a date.”

“Sounds nice,” The teen replied. “The part about Venice I mean.”

“It was for a while,” Rory said, remembering the trip. “Anyways, how did you meet the Doctor?”

Charlie was quiet for a moment, deciding if she should tell the truth. Glancing over at Rory, seeing his worried expression, she made a decision.

“You don’t have to answer –”

“It’s ok Rory,” Charlie reassured, smiling slightly. “He saved my life the first time I met him. I was – um – in a compromising situation. I was about to jump off a bridge. In hindsight, it was probably not the best decision, but it felt like the right one. He showed up at my school the next day as a substitute and my principal was an alien.”

Rory didn’t say anything. Instead, he pulled the girl into a brief hug, comforting her for a moment. Charlie gave a slight upturn of her lips before turning back to the stove.

“I think the rice is done,” She commented. Rory nodded.

“I’ll take care of everything. You go call the others, ok?” Rory asked.

“Alright Rory,” Charlie replied, walking out of the kitchen. She met Amy as she was walking out of her room and told her about dinner. The redhead thanked the girl with a smile and went to go help her fiancé.

The teen then began her search for the Timelord. Remembering where she had seen him last time, she headed to the console room. Walking down to where the Doctor made repairs, she found the man reading a book, swinging in a sling. He glanced up and smiled when he saw the teen.

“Well hello there Charlie. Thought everyone forgot I was down here,” The Doctor commented. He closed his book and put it to the side.

“Forget you?” Charlie said with a laugh. “I doubt that’s possible. Rory says dinner’s ready.”

“I don’t think I’ll have dinner today,” The Doctor replied, swinging a bit once more.

“You have to have dinner Doctor,” Charlie urged, putting her hands on her hips. “Come on, you need some food.”

“Nah,” The Doctor replied, leaning back, hands behind his head. “I’m comfy enough down here.”

“Whatever you say Doctor,” The teen said, shaking her head. She walked back up and the Doctor thought about following, but didn’t. It was alright if he skipped out on dinner; after all, Amy and Rory knew that he did that fairly often.

He was about to open his book again when he heard footsteps coming back. Charlotte was carrying two plates of food down.

“Going to help me Doctor?” She asked, holding out a plate. The Timelord grabbed the plate from her and looked at it. “It’s not poisonous,” She joked, sitting down beside the Doctor.

“What are you doing?” He asked, turning his gaze to the teen as she sat down. She put down her spoonful of rice and looked at him.

“You said you wouldn’t eat dinner because you’re comfy down here, so I brought dinner to you,” Charlie said simply before taking a bite of her food.

“Why are you here?” The Doctor blurted out. Once he heard it out loud, he realized how bad it had sounded and tried to apologize. Charlie just smiled.

“It’s alright Doctor. It isn’t much fun eating alone, now is it? I didn’t want you to be lonely,” She explained. “I swear the food isn’t bad. I helped Rory make it.”

The Doctor smiled and ruffled her hair before taking a bite of his own food. It really was good, but not as good as the company. He was glad that the teen came back to sit with him. Amy and Rory must have been enjoying the time alone too.

Amy had given up trying to make the alien eat when he didn’t want to, but he had a feeling that the teen wouldn’t take no for an answer.

The meal rarely fell into silence. The pair of them kept up the conversation, Charlie asking a million questions about everything she could and the Doctor sharing some stories. It was a nice time for the both of them and they talked long after their plates were put to the side, finished.

“Charlie, what’s in your pocket?” The Doctor asked, noticing the object. The teen pulled it out of her pocket.

“It’s just my phone. Must be useless now. I don’t get coverage in space unfortunately,” She said with a smile, looking at the phone. She hadn’t even thought about it this whole time.

“Give it here,” The Doctor requested, holding out his hand. She gave it up easily, handing it to the Timelord. He whipped out his sonic and flipped the phone over to see the battery. After a couple seconds, he tossed the phone back to the teen.

“There you go. It should work now,” He said, watching the teen test it out. “What happened?” He asked when she laughed, worrying that it hadn’t worked.

“It’s nothing. Isabelle just left me a million messages, that’s all,” Charlotte replied.

The Doctor noticed as the teen’s face turned to one of sorrow, mentioning her friend. It hadn’t occurred to the Timelord that Charlotte might actually be homesick, no matter how terrible almost everyone had been to her. He bumped her shoulder lightly, looking her in the eyes.

“You can leave whenever you like, you do know that,” The Doctor spoke gently, making sure she understood this fact. The girl smiled and bumped him back.

“You think I want to leave? Never,” She replied with a grin. “Who would take care of you? I’m going to be around for a long time, I promise you that.”

The Doctor grinned at hearing that and pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. He knew that whenever any of his companions said those words, made that promise, he lost them soon afterwards. He knew all too well that forever didn’t exist for them. But he swore that he would try his hardest to make sure she didn’t die.

“I’m never going to get rid of you, am I?” He joked, looking down at the girl. She looked at him, a smirk on her face as she straightened his bowtie.

“Not a chance Spaceman.”

**. . .**

It was a massacre.

Bodies littered the ground. Everywhere she looked, there were bodies. Charlie finally noticed the gun in her hand and dropped it as if it was on fire. Glancing at her clothes, she saw blood that wasn’t her own staining them.

 Several knives were in her belt, and many more buried deep within the victims. Pulling out all of the knives and tossing them to the ground, Charlie tried to remember what had happened. It had hit her then that this was her fault.

All her fault.

The teen tried to run, to run away from everything she had caused.  

She found a building and ran into it, not caring what it was, and slammed the door shut. Leaning against it, she caught her breath. Once she was sure she could support herself, Charlie pushed herself off the door.

Taking a look around, the teen noticed a light underneath another door. Without taking a second to think, she pushed it open and stumbled in. Charlotte had to throw up an arm so that she wasn’t blinded by the intense light.

“So nice of you to join us Charlotte,” A man said. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the light, she looked for the source of the voice.

It was the Victorian Man.

“Who the bloody hell are you?” She asked, sick of this guy constantly showing up in her life. Charlotte was demanding a name to put to the face.

“Why would you like to know?” He replied, smirking.

“So I have a name to put to the face I’m about to smack before I leave,” She replied cheekily. The man laughed and began to walk towards her.

“If a name is what you seek then a name is what you shall receive,” The man spoke. “My name is Alistair Isherwood, and our little dance is just beginning.”

“I’m not one for dancing Isherwood,” Charlie replied, standing tall. “What do you want with me?”

“You are worth a lot to many,” Alistair explained, “but I have already told you that. You are of use to me as well, and the people that I associate with.”

“Explain properly or don’t speak at all,” The teen said, growing tired of not knowing. Isherwood laughed.

“But I am Ms. Jackson. I am explaining very clearly,” Alistair said, walking around the room. He gave a slight wave of his hand and Charlie found herself being lifted from the floor by a pair of arms. Glancing on either side of her, she saw her captors were robots.

“Let go of me!” Charlotte shouted, wriggling in their grasp. She knew it wouldn’t do much to help her and she stopped. “So, what are you going to do now then Isherwood? Obviously not kill me.”

“And what makes you think that?” Alistair asked, eyebrow raised in question.

“You need me.”

“You are just as useful dead as you are alive, never forget that,” Alistair replied. He didn’t see a glimmer of fear like he hoped to.

“The Doctor will find me,” Charlie replied confidently. “And I can keep myself alive until then.”   

 “But you will not be uninjured,” Alistair said, motioning for her to be taken away.

“What are you going to do to me?!” Charlie shouted, struggling once more. Alistair smirked.

“We’re going to make you remember.”

They began dragging her out of the room. Charlotte had to think fast, to stall some more. “Remember what?!”

It had worked. Alistair raised his hand in an indication to not take her just yet.

“Certain parts of your memory, even your biology, have been locked up,” Alistair explained. “Your biological traits are something we cannot unlock, but your memory is much more dangerous. It will take time, but we’ll unlock it. And when we do girl, you’ll be my little puppet.”

Alistair Isherwood gave a wave of his hand and Charlie was dragged out of the room, a needle stabbed in her neck. The world went fuzzy before going black.

When she came to again, there was a man with his back towards her. She was strapped to a medical table. She couldn’t even move an inch of her body.

“This’ll hurt a lot Ms. Jackson,” The man said, wheeling a cart of medical instruments – and some knives with inscriptions that looked much too big to perform any sort of surgery.

He injected her with some sort of serum before plunging the knives into her. She screamed in pain. Charlie would have been surprised that her lungs could hold all that air if there weren’t knives poking around in her head.

**. . .**

Charlie woke up screaming as she sat up in her bed. It took her a minute to realise that she was on the TARDIS and that there wasn’t anything in her head. She heard footsteps running towards the door and pulled up the covers. A minute later and the Doctor was bursting through the door, sonic in his hand.

“What wrong?! I heard screaming,” The Doctor shouted before noticing the scared expression on Charlie’s face. Taking a glance around the room, he found no one else. Putting away the sonic, he realized that the teen had had a bad dream.

He sat down on the edge of her bed. She moved closer to him, still attempting to clam her breathing. She leaned into him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Are you alright?” The Doctor asked, looking down at the girl. She shook her head. It seemed like she wasn’t going to say anything at all. After a few moments of sitting there, the Doctor stood up, holding out his hand for her to take.

“Come on. I doubt you’ll want to go back to sleep just yet,” He said. The teen grabbed his hand tightly, as if afraid that she was dreaming now too, and he led her to the library. “I’ll be right back with some tea,” the Timelord explained before running off to the kitchen.

The teen walked around the bookshelves and picked up a book to read. Settling down on one of the many cushions spread out in the room, she began to read.

After a few minutes, the Doctor came back with a tray and some blankets. He put one over Charlie before handing her a cup of tea and grabbing a cushion for himself.

“Thank you,” She said, grateful for everything he had done. The Doctor grinned and ruffled her hair.

“It’s my pleasure Charlie,” He replied, taking a sip of his tea. “Want to tell me what the nightmare was about?”

The teen took a moment to think, trying to recollect what had made her so scared. She looked up at the Timelord. “I can’t even remember what it was,” Charlie admitted.

“That’s alright. Probably for the best,” The Doctor grinned, kissing the top of her head. “Why don’t we read until we feel sleepy?”

“Sounds good to me,” Charlie smiled, opening her book once more.

The two read in silence, occasionally talking to each other when they got to a good part in their respective books. They stayed up long after the tea had finished and the Jammy Dodgers had been eaten.

The Doctor glanced over after a while to find Charlie asleep, head resting on his shoulder. He smiled and put their books and teacups aside. Careful as to not wake the teen, he lifted her up and walked to her room, putting her back in her bed. The Timelord turned on the lamp in the far corner of the room, just in case the nightmare would return.

“Goodnight Charlie,” He whispered before turning off the light and shutting the door. He wished he knew what had scared the teen so much so that he could make it better.

That was when he had an idea.

Charlie would _love_ what he had planned for tomorrow.

The Timelord got to work immediately.


	9. Chapter 9

.

 

When Charlie woke up the next morning, she was confused in her dazed state as to how she got into her bed. For a few moments she just laid there, trying to piece together where she was. The last things she remembered were Jammy Dodgers, tea, and reading in the library with the Doctor. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she snatched her glasses from the bedside table.

 

Getting up, she noticed two things. One: the lamp in the far corner of the room was on and two: there was a Christmas sweater at the edge of her bed. She knew that she didn't own any such item, nor did she choose this item from the wardrobe.

 

It was a bright shade of Christmas red with all sorts of Christmassy designs everywhere – like reindeer and snowmen done in white and Christmas trees – complete with stars and little bead ornaments – in a variety of colours.

 

The sweater was downright atrocious, but definitely not as bad as it could be. Lifting up the sweater, she noticed a sticky-note on the back of it.

 

Wear the sweater and head over to the console room

~Doctor

 

Charlie raised her eyebrows, the corner of her lips turning up slightly in amusement. What was he planning? The curiosity was killing her and the teen got ready quickly, pulling the sweater over her head before leaving. It was a size too big, but it was perfect because it didn't irritate her arms, or the still healing cuts.

 

Making her way to the console room, she found it completely decorated in every Christmas decoration imaginable. The railings had garland wrapped around them in red and gold, while the console itself was wrapped in green and silver.

 

Ornaments of all colours hung down from the ceiling and lights were strung wherever they could fit. Charlie couldn't help but grin at the sight; especially when she thought about the Doctor trying to set it all up.

 

Speaking of the Timelord, where was he? He definitely wasn't here, that much was clear. Charlie walked down to the console, looking for another note. Looking up, she found one on the monitor.

 

You listened! That never happens. Anyways, off to the library!

~Doctor

P.S – You better be wearing the sweater

 

The teen rolled her eyes at the note, shaking her head a bit. Hoping that there wasn't another note waiting for her, she made her way to the library, just as the other two passengers began to walk out of their room.

 

"Charlie, what are you wearing?" Amy asked, having caught sight of the sweater. It wasn't exactly something you could miss, even if you tried.

 

"Amy, hurr – woah," Rory had just joined the redhead when he stopped in his tracks, pointing to the sweater. "You can't be wearing that on your own will," He said, looking at the girl for confirmation.

 

"The Doctor left it on my bed with a note and I have to meet him in the library," Charlie explained. Finally understanding, the couple shared a look before looking back at the girl.

 

"I'm so sorry you have to wear that Charlie," Amy said on behalf of the Timelord. "Well, we better go make breakfast."

 

"The console room is worse. Have fun!" The teen commented before continuing her walk to the library. Reaching the doors, she mentally braced herself for anything that could be waiting on the other side.

 

When she opened the doors, she was greeted by the sight of the Doctor tangled in lights beside a giant Christmas tree.

 

Charlie put a hand up to her mouth to muffle her giggles, trying to calm down. The Doctor heard her though, and his face dropped when he saw her standing in the doorway. She walked over to help him untangle himself, wondering what was wrong.

 

"I wanted to get the tree done and surprise you," The Doctor explained as he moped, "but these lights just had to ruin it." He looked at his now untangled hands and then at the bare tree, his shoulders sagging a bit. He was really counting on seeing the teen's surprised face when she saw the tree, not have her untangle him.

 

"Well, now we can decorate it together," Charlie said, bumping into the Timelord gently, "more fun that way anyways, right?" Without waiting for his reply, she began to string up the lights. "You can help me anytime you want you know," Charlie commented after several minutes.

 

The Doctor smiled, arms crossed. "Nah, I'm good." He laughed when he saw the expression on Charlie's face. The teen then proceeded to dump the tinsel – that was meant for the tree – onto his head.

 

"It's snowing," Charlotte smirked. The Doctor returned the smirk and grabbed a handful of the fallen tinsel. She noticed this and started running to hide behind the tree. The chase continued until the Doctor finally caught her.

 

"Ha! Now we're even," The Doctor exclaimed, grinning. Charlie was trying to shake the tinsel out of her hair, but gave up, leaving the silver strands to stay among her blonde ones.

 

"We still haven't decorated the tree," She pointed out, glancing back at the towering, still bare pine.

 

"Then we better get to work!" The Doctor exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

 

With a grin he began putting up the remainder of the lights – with the help of a ladder for the higher branches. Charlie, on the other hand, was grabbing the ornament boxes and starting to arrange the numerous items on the tree in a way she liked. Once she decorated as far as she could reach, she began handing them to the Doctor.

 

"There are some more boxes by the fireplace," The Doctor pointed out, gesturing in the general direction of the boxes.

 

"There's a fireplace?" Charlie questioned, following the vague directions he had given her. The Doctor waited on the ladder for a few moments before he heard the teen shout.

 

"There is a fireplace!"

 

"I told you!" The Doctor shouted back. "Honestly, we're in a spaceship with an infinite number of rooms that can travel through time and space, and you're surprised by a fireplace?" He said as the teen appeared with boxes piled high in her arms.

 

"Pretty much," She grinned as soon as she put the boxes down. Opening them up, Charlie began digging through them. "Here's the star," the teen said, handing the object to him.

 

"I will never understand you humans," The Doctor replied to her earlier comment, shaking his head. Relieving her of the star, he managed to put it up without sending both the tree and himself tumbling to the ground.

 

"Here, wear this!" Charlie exclaimed, plopping a Santa hat onto the alien's head as soon as he climbed off the ladder.

 

"Then you have to wear this," The Doctor countered, stuffing a red and green elf hat – complete with ears – over her blonde curls. Charlie had to adjust it a bit so it didn't cover her eyes, and she pulled out a few pairs of reindeer antlers.

 

"Do you think Amy and Rory would wear these?" She asked. The Doctor smirked slightly and grabbed them.

 

"Not without some sweaters," He replied.

 

"Then we should go get some," Charlie smirked. The two ran off to find the most atrocious Christmas sweaters they could find.

 

. . .

 

Twenty minutes, several sweaters, and lots of struggling later, the four of them were standing in the console room, all wearing appalling Christmas clothing.

 

"Really Doctor?" Amy asked, arms crossed, looking a bit miffed.

 

A pair of antlers sat on her ginger hair. They jingled with Amy's every move due to the fact that they had tiny jingle bells on them. The redhead's sweater was a dark purple with candy canes, tinsel, and jingle bells all over it. It was difficult for her to move without being heard.

 

"At least yours doesn't have lights!" The Timelord shot back. At that moment, the bulbs on his sweater decided to light up. He gestured to them to prove his point. The red bowtie – which the alien insisted on keeping – clashed terribly with his green sweater.

 

The lights just made it worse.

 

"Where does this tinsel keep coming from?!" Charlie exclaimed – clueless to the battle that the Doctor and Amy were now having – while she pulled a bunch of the silver strands out of her hair.

 

"Come on guys, it's not that bad," Rory attempted to break up the sweater war.

 

It was difficult to take him seriously with the antlers and red light he had on his nose. The sweater he had to wear was a deep blue, with a silhouette of Santa's sleigh and reindeer. There was even a red light for Rudolph's nose that refused to go out. Out of all the sweaters, his and Charlie's were the least terrible; looking at the competition, that wasn't saying much.

 

"Why are we wearing these anyways?" The redhead asked, exasperated. The sounds of bells filled the air as she moved to lean against the railing.

 

"We're going to New New York, that's why," The Doctor said as if it was obvious, remembering his plan. Walking over to the console, he began to set their course.

 

"You mean New York, right?" Rory asked. The Timelord shook his head.

 

"Nope, I meant New New York. Well, it's the shortened name anyways. It's on New Earth," He explained.

 

"Do they wear ugly Christmas sweaters all the time over there?" Charlie asked, crossing her arms. Rory chuckled while Amy was laughing. She gave the younger girl a high-five.

 

"Only on Christmas," The Doctor grinned before the TARDIS shook and he returned his attention to flying the ship. He spun around the console, pulling levers and pressing buttons, looking absolutely ridiculous while wearing the hat and sweater - the Timelord was a blur of red, green, and blinking lights.

 

"Well, what happened to the old Earth?" Amy asked, tearing the antlers off her head.

 

"Burned," The Doctor replied, leaning against the console to look at everyone. "The Sun did it. Humans were everywhere at that point. They touched every star, every planet, everywhere! I suppose they felt homesick," He mused, checking the monitor for something. "New Earth is identical to the old one."

 

Charlie was going to speak, but decided against it at the last second. She was about to ask if the Doctor ever got homesick. When he was explaining who and what he was a few days ago in her school library – had it really been a few days ago? – he didn't mention a planet. The teen knew he had to have one, but she had a feeling that the subject was a touchy one. She didn't want to ruin the day for everyone, so she kept her mouth shut.

 

The Doctor noticed that Charlie was holding something back, all the adults could. All three shared a look between themselves as soon as Charlie said she was going to get rid of the elf hat.

 

"There's no way I'm going out in public wearing this," She remarked, pulling it off her head before heading down the hall to her room.

 

"We need to talk later," Amy said at once, whispering in case the teen was nearby. "Once Charlie's asleep of course. A proper talk about her."

 

"What's there to talk about?" The Doctor asked, turning away from her to fiddle with the console. He didn't want to go behind the teen's back and talk about everything – everything he had seen and that she had told him – in detail. It just didn't feel right.

 

"Doctor," Amy started with a sigh, but Rory cut her off before she could say anything else.

 

"She's just a kid Doctor," Rory explained quietly, looking over his shoulder to make sure the subject of their chat wasn't there. "A kid that's gone through a lot and now she's travelling with three strangers. We need to know a bit about what happened to her so we can avoid those things, even help her when she'll let us."

 

"I already told you both about her situation," The Timelord replied quickly, refusing to look at either of them.

 

He pretended to be busy with his ship, but was really thinking about what Rory had said. How well did any of them know Charlie really? He liked to think that he knew the girl fairly well, but did he actually know her at all? It sent a pang through his hearts just thinking about all of this.

 

"Not enough," Amy remarked, walking over so that the Doctor had no choice but to look at her. "We all want what's best for her, even if we don't know her that well and this talk is vital. So we will be continuing this little chat later on, alright?" She asked, but the Timelord knew better by now; it was a statement or an order more than a question.

 

"Is everyone alright?" Charlie asked as she walked back to the others. "You all look tense," She observed.

 

"Of course! Why wouldn't we be?" The Doctor exclaimed. Everyone knew that Charlie wasn't fooled, so they quickly changed subjects.

 

"Are we there yet Doctor?" The redhead asked, looking over at the Timelord. It took a moment for him to reply.

 

"What? Oh, yes, we are," He responded, gesturing to the door grandly. "Outside those doors you'll find New New York. Well, what are you waiting for? Go on!" The Timelord announced, motioning for the three to go ahead.

 

"We are not wearing these," Amy declared, taking off both Rory's antlers and his nose, tossing them - along with her own antlers - onto the seats.

 

The couple headed to the doors, Amy grabbing his hand before walking out. Charlie looked at the Timelord for a moment, wanting to ask if he was alright, but he simply grinned.

 

"Go on Charlie. I won't leave you with the lovebirds for long. Just have to make sure the old girl's alright," He responded, patting the console for emphasis. Charlie smiled slightly, nodding a bit.

 

"Alright. I'll let you two have a moment," She teased, grinning as the Doctor waved her off.

 

"Oi! Don't you have a planet to explore?"

 

"Yes, I do," Charlie replied, heading to the doors. "Have fun!" She laughed before walking outside, closing the door behind her.

 

The Doctor chuckled as the teen ran off; probably to have some of fun or get into some mischief while she let the lovebirds have their privacy for a bit. He sat down, feeling tired for once. It wasn't like he was sleepy or anything – he rarely needed sleep – but the Timelord felt weary, as if his years had caught up on him.

 

In these few moments that the Doctor had to himself, he reflected on his life, which was never a good thing. He thought about all of his past companions and his current three. Why did he bring them along?

 

He wanted to show them the universe and all its wonders because it had grown old for him. Whenever the Timelord travelled alone, he couldn't see the beauty and all the good in the universe, only a cruel and harsh place full of evil. But why them specifically?

 

Amy was dear to his hearts, the first face that his current regeneration ever saw. He made a promise to a little girl and was now fulfilling it a couple years late. Besides, he could rarely say no to the gir- woman. She was the Girl Who Waited.

 

Rory was Amy's fiancé, he couldn't just leave him alone while he took her on adventures. What if something happened to Amy? How would he tell Rory? It wasn't just that; Rory had proved that he was an important part of the TARDIS team. His nature was caring – plus he was a very good cook.

 

Then there was their newest addition; Charlie. Ms. Charlotte Jackson. Why did he bring her along? He saw the girl at her lowest; he saved her from a terrible mistake. The Timelord wanted to show her all the good and beauty in the world after all the things she had gone through.

 

But there were a lot of teenagers like that. Why did he pick her?

 

She was clever – something that he loved about her. The girl was observant and sometimes saw more than the Doctor did. She was eager to learn and had a curious mind, like all of his companions. She also had a big heart – like Rory – but she was slower to trust others. Deep down though, the Doctor knew that he took her for other reasons too – much more selfish reasons.

 

She was a mystery.

 

That's why he had taken her. Charlie had one heart, that much was certain, but she could write Circular Gallifreyan. She had written about the Time War in her notebook. Back at the school, Andrews said that many of his enemies wanted her, that she would be valuable in taking him down.

 

The Timelord sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had so much hope that day when he saw the notebook. Hope and disbelief. For a split second, he thought he had found one of his own, another Timelord. The scan had slashed those thoughts quickly.

 

He hated those reasons, hated that part of him. Did he care about her just because of those selfish things? The Timelord strongly believed that he didn't, but the Doctor didn't trust himself on this.

 

The Doctor couldn't bring himself to look into that anymore.

 

. . .

 

Amy and Rory had left the TARDIS first, just in case the teen and the Timelord wanted to have a chat or something. For a second when the two stepped out, they thought that they were on the wrong planet. There was a blanket of snow on everything, but neither of them felt very cold. Lights were strung up on the bare branches of trees and everyone was running around, shopping bags in hand.

 

"Are you sure this isn't Earth?" Amy turned to ask the man. The city looked very much like their own New York, except it seemed more modern. The office buildings seemed that way anyways.

 

Just as Rory was about to reply, a cat-woman in all white passed them.

 

"Yep, I'm sure," Rory answered, turning back to Amy to avoid staring at the cat-woman. "Why don't we get some coffee? They're bound to have a Starbucks around here somewhere," He remarked, looking around a bit, as if one would pop out of the ground.

 

"What about Charlie?" Amy inquired, turning back to the TARDIS to see if the girl had walked out yet.

 

"I'm sure she'll enjoy some time to herself," Rory remarked. "Come on," He urged with a smile, "it's been a while since we've been able to have some time alone out of the TARDIS."

 

The woman looked at him and smiled slightly at how happy he seemed at the prospect of a date on a new planet. More importantly, without any danger or any other people around to interrupt it.

 

"Alright, let's go find a Starbucks," She agreed with a smile, caving in. Rory perked up a bit and grabbed her hand, grinning.

 

"Let's go then."

 

The two headed down the street, receiving some strange looks double takes due to their horrendous sweaters, but they didn't care. Nothing really mattered to either of them except for the fact that they were together, off to get a coffee. They didn't worry about money; the Doctor had shown them how to get money wherever they went when they first started travelling with him.

 

Unfortunately for them, they didn't come across a Starbucks during their tour of the city, but instead found a quaint little cafe. They headed inside and were soon talking over a steaming mug of coffee.

 

In that moment, life was good. No running, no danger, just a nice warm cup between their hands and the person they loved across from them.

 

Life was good.

 

. . .

 

Charlie stepped out of the TARDIS just as a gust of wind swept through the streets. It was a bit cold – she was hugging her arms in an attempt to warm up – but the teen didn't let it dampen her spirits. It was Christmas morning and the city was alive with sounds of people exchanging greetings and last minute shoppers scurrying home with their purchases.

 

Going where her feet would take her, Charlotte began wandering the city. She had never been to the New York back home, so she couldn't compare how similar or different the two cities were. The air was full of different smells and she loved every second of it. Being here though, made her feel homesick.

 

She missed the lights of her wonderful London. It wasn't like New New York had a lack of them – quite the opposite – but something about those lights back home was special. The ice skating was always one of her favourite parts about the holiday. Her favourite rinks had always been the one at London Eye and at Canary Wharf.

 

It wasn't like her parents took her to all these places. They used to take her skating and to a new Christmas grotto every year when she was little. That all stopped when she was about seven years old. Really, everything went downhill about that time.

 

Her parents always left to take a vacation by themselves after that. They would get one of the neighbours to check up on her and make her meals and such, but Isabelle's family would always let her stay at their place on Christmas whenever they were still home. They were the ones that took her places. As she got older, Charlie would find ways to go by herself.

 

Just thinking about her parents sent a pang through her heart. Charlie actually had to sit down so that she wouldn't run into a pole while lost in her memories. There had always been hushed arguments behind closed doors about her adoption when she was young. At the time she didn't understand what that had meant, and she had pushed it to the back of her mind, only to have them resurface during her last argument with her mother.

 

No matter what they had done to her, Charlotte truly loved them. Even though it wasn't Christmas for them right now – maybe it was – she wished that she was with them. When her mother wasn't drunk and her father had a good day at work, the three of them would decorate the house together. It was one of the few good days that Charlie had with her parents. They would even bake a bit, although her mother was rubbish and her father claimed it was too girly for him.

 

"Hello? Are you ok?" A man asked. Charlie snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to the source of the voice. She found a man with short, dark hair and was wearing both a belt andsuspenders.

 

"Yeah, thanks," Charlotte said softly with a small smile. The man returned it.

 

"You sure? You looked a bit sad," He replied. "What're you doing here all alone anyways? It's Christmas," He remarked, putting his hands in the pockets of his trench coat.

 

"I came here with some friends," She answered, hesitating on the word. "Two of them headed off on a date and the other is checking on our ride." Charlie fiddled with her sleeve, trying to keep her hands warm. There was another thing bugging her; the man's voice sounded so familiar. She could've sworn that she had heard it before.

 

The man glanced down to her hands and noticed that the tips of her ears were getting red. "You seem to be a bit cold. Why don't we go get some hot chocolate or something," He offered. Noticing the look the teen was giving him, he laughed. "Not like that. I'm in a very happy relationship with a wonderful guy. You just seem lonely, that's all."

 

Charlie thought about it and nodded, smiling slightly. "Sure, why not? I'm warning you though; I have my cell phone and you do not want to mess with my friend," She commented while standing up. The man laughed as they began walking.

 

"Don't worry Charlotte, I won't let anything happen."

 

The teen stopped walking and looked at the man as he stopped as well, wondering what was wrong.

 

"How do you know my name?" She asked, bracing herself to run.

 

"You just looked like a Charlotte. It's kinda a weird gift I have," The man explained, shrugging. The teen wanted to run, but she couldn't help but trust the man. She found herself nodding slightly and walking with the man once more.

 

"Well, I don't have some weird psychic gift and you seem to have the upper hand," The teen remarked. "I don't even know your name."

 

"Captain Jack Harkness at your service," The man said with a bow. Charlie laughed a bit.

 

"Well, Mr. Harkness, I'm Charlotte Jackson," She replied. Jack made a face.

 

"Please, just call me Jack," He asked.

 

"Only if you call me Charlie instead of Charlotte," The teen bargained. Jack grinned.

 

"It's a deal," He agreed as they walked into a cafe. Jack made Charlie get a table and – despite her protests – bought the drinks for the both of them.

 

"So, Charlie, this has been killing me. What the hell are you wearing?" He asked through laughs. Charlie scrunched up her nose at the question, taking a sip of her cocoa.

 

"It wasn't my choice. My friend made us all wear them," She explained.

 

"I'd be concerned if it was your choice," Jack grinned, taking a sip from his own mug. Charlie raised an eyebrow, traces of a smirk on her face.

 

"Really? This coming from the guy that's wearing a belt and suspenders," She shot back casually, trying not to laugh. Jack just shrugged.

 

"Touché," He replied, smiling slightly.

 

"My friend wears suspenders you know," Charlie commented. "And a bowtie with a tweed jacket. Now he needs a bit of fashion advice."

 

"I'll say," Jack said, taking a sip. "Between that description and the sweater you're wearing, I think he needs a bit more than some advice."

 

Charlie laughed and the two spent quite a bit of time talking. Jack didn't share too much about what he did, but talked a lot about the adventures that he had in the past. Charlie in turn shared a bit about the Doctor – careful not to mention him by name, or the TARDIS – and a couple minutes had turned into an hour.

 

"I should probably go check up on my friend, see if he's still working on our ride," She said, standing up. Jack stood up as well.

 

"Why don't I walk you there? Just to make sure you get there alright," He offered. Charlie smiled slightly.

 

"I think I can take care of myself Jack," She remarked, "but I would like the company."

 

Charlie led the way back just as the Doctor walked out of the TARDIS. Jack looked at the ship with a fond remembrance. The Doctor waved to the teen and she returned it as the Timelord walked over to the two.

 

"Hello Charlie, Jack," The Doctor greeted with a grin. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

 

"Not that long for me actually," Jack replied, giving the Timelord a hug. "I saw you about seven months ago."

 

"You two know each other I presume," Charlie commented, looking between the men.

 

"Captain Jack is an old friend of mine," The Doctor explained.

 

"What the hell are you wearing?!" Jack exclaimed, finally catching sight of the sweater when it lit up. The Doctor looked down at it with annoyance. Thankfully he had left the hat back in the TARDIS.

 

"Amy made me wear it," He answered, sounding like a child. Jack laughed.

 

"Don't sound like such a baby," A Scottish accent drawled. Amy and Rory walked up to the trio, hands still intertwined.

 

"I'm guessing she's Amy," Jack said with a laugh.

 

"I am not a baby!" The Doctor pouted. "Amy, Rory, this is my friend Captain Jack Harkness. Jack, this is Amy and Rory," He introduced.

 

"A pleasure," Jack replied. Glancing at the time, he sighed. "I'm going to have to get moving, Ianto's probably waiting for me back home."

 

"Until next time then Jack," The Doctor grinned, giving his friend a hug.

 

"Until next time Doctor," He agreed as he walked away, saluting the Timelord before running off.

 

"So, what would you all like to do?" The Doctor asked, turning to his companions. It was starting to get late, but he still had some plans up his sleeve.

 

"Anything really," Rory replied with a shrug. No one else really had any plans.

 

"Well then, all of you run inside and grab some warm clothes," The Timelord remarked, waving to the TARDIS.

 

"Don't have to tell me twice," Charlie remarked before running into the blue box. The couple followed quickly and the Doctor waited outside patiently, rocking back and forth. After a few moments, the trio returned, donning hats, gloves, and a jacket.

 

"So, where are we going?" Amy asked, getting the chance to do so. The Doctor grinned.

 

"You'll have to wait and see Amelia Pond," He replied before he began walking. "Follow me!"

 

Charlie ran up ahead to walk beside the Doctor while the couple followed close behind, taking a bit more time with their stroll. The lights looked much better now, which only made Charlie ache more for the lights of London. She didn't let it show though; it wouldn't be right. After all, the Doctor had planned out the trip – she didn't want to ruin it for everyone by being homesick.

 

Soon they were standing in the shadow of the largest Christmas tree Charlie had ever seen – even bigger than the one sitting in the library. The Doctor watched as her eyes lit up when she saw people skating on the rink just below the mighty tree.

 

"Can we. . .?" She asked, looking up at him. He smiled, unable to say no to the teen when she looked so happy.

 

"Of course we can," The Doctor replied, warming up when he saw the girl's grin grow. He felt even better when she gave him a hug.

 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She exclaimed, kissing his cheek before going to get some skates.

 

"What just happened?" Amy questioned, giggling at the expression on the Timelord's face.

 

"We're going skating," The Doctor announced. "So we should probably get some skates."

 

"That would be a good idea," Rory commented, smirking slightly. "Unless you'd like to wear your boots of course."

 

"Alright boys, let's get us some skates, yeah?" Amy asked, walking off to follow the path Charlie had taken moments before, not waiting for the two to follow. The men shared a look before following.

 

Five minutes later and the four's skates were laced up and ready to go. Charlie was the first one on the ice, gliding gracefully from years of practice. Amy and Rory were a bit wobbly in the beginning, using each other for support. After a few minutes though, they were doing a couple slow laps, gaining a bit of confidence.

 

The Doctor on the other hand, was starting to regret this decision.

 

He was clumsy enough on the ground with his normal shoes on. Putting him on ice was a bad idea, especially when you coupled that with blades on his shoes. He was about as graceful as a baby giraffe. He managed to fall down within the first few second of stepping on the ice.

 

"Need some help there Doctor?" Charlie asked, trying to conceal her smile. Meanwhile, Amy and Rory turned around so that the Timelord wouldn't see them laughing.

 

"I can battle Daleks, outsmart Weeping Angels, and defeat Cybermen numerous amount of times," The Doctor grumbled, taking the hand the teen offered to help him stand up. "But I can't skate."

 

"Come on Doctor, it's easy when you get the hang of it," Charlie said, making sure he was standing steadily before grabbing his other hand and pulling him along, skating backwards.

 

"Charlie!" The Doctor warned, starting to feel as if he was going to fall again.

 

"Trust me Doctor," Charlie assured. "I won't let you go. Just focus on keeping your balance."

 

He took a breath and did as he was told, letting the teen drag him along. After a few minutes, the Doctor was skating all by himself.

 

"You've got it!" Charlie exclaimed, clapping.

 

"Good job Doctor!" Amy called, clapping as well. Rory clapped along, whistling a couple times.

 

"It's not that bad now," He admitted before looking at the teen. "Thank you Charlie."

 

The teen simply waved her hand, dismissing the thanks. "It's the least I could do," She replied.

 

The four of them skated together for the remainder of the time they had on the ice, occasionally falling into a giant pile. It was good fun and there was a lot of laughing going on. Unfortunately, it had to end too soon.

 

About thirty minutes later the group was sitting in the TARDIS' library near the fire, drinking some hot chocolate that Rory had made from scratch.

 

"How did everyone like today?" The Doctor asked, taking a sip from his mug.

 

"It was amazing," Amy answered, snuggling closer to Rory. He wrapped an arm around her, smiling contently.

 

"Ten out of ten from me," Rory agreed. The Doctor grinned, happy with the answers.

 

"Perfect. What about you Charlie?" He asked, bumping the teen's shoulder gently. A smile graced her face.

 

"It was brilliant Doctor. I loved it," She replied, trying to express how grateful she was for today. The Timelord smiled, glad that the teen felt that way.

 

"I'm glad you said that," He said, voice lower so that only the two of them could hear. Not that the couple minded. "Today's trip was for you. Did it make up for the nightmare?"

 

Charlie grinned and gave the alien a hug, not trusting herself to speak. She was blinking back a few tears, hating how emotional she was getting lately. The teen snuggled closer – against her better judgement – when the elder wrapped his arms around her to return the hug.

 

The Doctor was surprised in the least, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It showed how much the teen trusted him. He hugged a bit tighter, making a promise to himself that he wouldn't allow anything to hurt her.

 

"Well, it isn't over yet," The Doctor whispered after they had broken up. He stood, making the couple look over to the two. He simply held out his hand to help the teen get up.

 

"Where are you two going?" Amy asked, but the Doctor just waved his hands, leading the girl out of the library and into the console room. The two were silent as he flew the ship once more. When they had landed, the Doctor motioned for her to open the doors.

 

"Where are we Doctor?" Charlie asked, but the Doctor just smiled.

 

"Go outside and see," was all he said.

 

The teen's curiosity got the best of her and she opened the doors, walking out of the TARDIS. It was sometime around noon, it was just beginning to snow, and Charlie knew the certain street they were on very well. The door of the opposite house opened and Isabelle came running out.

 

Charlie wasn't sure when her feet started moving, but she ran to Isabelle and the two hugged for a moment. She didn't hear the Doctor get out of the TARDIS behind her, leaning against the door.

 

"You said you would be here!" Isabelle exclaimed when she let go of her best friend. "I just wasn't sure if you would come or not."

 

"When did I say that?" Charlie asked, a bit confused as to when she had uttered those words.

 

"Two weeks ago you said you'd swing by around noon before showing up for dinner," Isabelle explained before she realized something. "You just started travelling with the Doctor, haven't you?" She asked.

 

"Yeah, it's only been about a week or so," Charlie replied, watching her friend carefully. The other girl nodded.

 

"The you I saw was a couple months older than you. Which means you must've known all along," Isabelle commented, as if it all made sense to her. When she saw her friend's confused expression, she elaborated.

 

"You explained this whole time travel thing to me the first time you visited after the whole principal thing," She added, waving to the Doctor. The Timelord smiled and waved back.

 

"It's nice to see you again Isabelle," Charlie said sincerely. "I hope dinner goes well," She remarked, not sure if she wanted to ask about her parents. Isabelle looked at her for a moment, understanding her friend.

 

"Don't worry about them Charlie," The raven said softly, putting her hands on the other girl's shoulders. "They looked for you for a bit, but they found something and moved away a few months back."

 

Charlie nodded slightly, thankful that her friend had understood what she wanted to hear. Without warning, the raven pulled Charlie into a hug, which the teen returned without hesitation. All too soon, the two broke apart.

 

"I better go help my mum," Isabelle sighed, looking back at the house. "We still aren't done cooking for tonight. I wish you could help us bake."

 

"Maybe some other time," Charlie smiled, putting her hands in her pockets. "I should probably be going too."

 

"See you soon mate," Isabelle said, giving her friend a quick hug.

 

"Hopefully sooner than later," Charlie remarked before the two went their separate ways. Once she was in the TARDIS, she leaned against the railing as the Doctor flew the ship once more.

 

"Thank you Doctor," She spoke up. The Doctor turned his head to listen to her. "I wish I could say something better, but that's all I can think of."

 

The Timelord smiled and ruffled her hair. "It was my pleasure Ms. Jackson," He grinned, letting the ship fly herself. The teen returned the smile with a grin, messing up his hair for revenge.

 

"Just promise me one thing," The teen requested.

 

"What is it?" He asked. Charlie pointed to her sweater.

 

"I never have to wear this ever again."

 

The Doctor laughed and soon Charlotte was as well. "Deal," The Doctor replied, catching his breath. Charlie smiled for a moment before collapsing. She would have hit the floor if he didn't catch her.

 

"Rory! Amy!" He cried, trying to wake the teen. A few moments later the couple came running into the room. Rory immediately kneeled beside the two, checking the teen's vitals.

 

"What happened?" He asked, glancing at the frantic Timelord.

 

"We were talking and she just fell!" The Doctor replied. Amy squeezed his shoulder and kneeled down beside him, trying to calm down her friend.

 

"Well, she's fine," Rory stated after he was done. "Amy, go get some water and some smelling salts. Or some hot sauce, either one will do," He ordered, the nurse in him coming out. The redhead nodded and got up to leave.

 

Charlie gripped the Doctor's hand tightly for a moment, gasping.

 

"What's wrong Charlie?" He asked, trying to keep his voice even. It appeared as if she hadn't heard the alien.

 

"The two seen first will be lost to you, taken by stony hands. stolen child will face unbearable pain, hiding behind a stony mask. The one that you seek to protect will die by your hand, or shall destroy all that you sacrificed everything to save," Charlie said, but it wasn't her voice. It was raspy and her eyes were glazed over. Once she had finished speaking, she had passed out soon after.

 

"To the medical bay. Quickly!" The Doctor shouted, picking up the teen carefully and running to the room as fast as he could, Amy and Rory following close behind.

 

The next few hours were a blur for the Timelord. Rory had helped hook Charlie up to the different machines he had in the medical bay. The others had gone to bed long ago on his orders, but the Doctor could bring himself to leave.

 

He was about to fall asleep when he heard the teen shuffle.

 

"Doctor," She said, opening her eyes slightly. He moved closer to the teen, holding her hand gently.

 

"I'm here Charlie," He replied softly, moving her hair away from her face.

 

"What happened?" She mumbled, trying to stay awake. The Doctor smiled and kissed her forehead.

 

"Go to sleep. I'll tell you in the morning," He said softly. The teen didn't struggle and let sleep overcome her. Leaving the Doctor to his thoughts.

 

What did she mean? Did she just create a new prophesy? He didn't get to think about it long before sleep washed over him as well.

 

. . .

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

The Doctor was woken from his sleep when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. Without thinking, he swatted his hand to hit whoever it was. The person hit him back twice as hard.

“Ow!” He yelled, eyes opening immediately. The Timelord began rubbing his arm where he had been slapped. Looking around to find who had smacked him, he couldn’t see anyone else besides Charlie. It was unlikely that she had done it since she was unconscious.

“Serves you right,” Amy growled in a whispered shout, walking over so he could see her. Now the Timelord understood why it had hurt so much.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the Doctor yawned and stretched. He was about to ask why the redhead had woken him when the events of last night came rushing back. Standing up immediately, he blocked Amy out and checked on Charlie’s status.

The machines told him everything he needed to know. They even told him a little more than he was asking for. The extra information wasn’t reassuring though. Furrowing his eyebrows, the Timelord double-checked the equipment to make sure it was working properly.

“What’s wrong Doctor?” Amy asked, noticing the Timelord’s expression. It took him a minute to remember that Amy was still in the room and that she was talking to him.

“Nothing,” He responded quickly, still fiddling with the equipment despite knowing that it was working perfectly fine.

“Okay,” The woman replied, drawing out the room in confusion. Why was he checking the equipment if nothing was wrong? “Is Charlie going to be alright?”

The Doctor noticed that Amy sounded a bit farther away and turned around, smiling slightly at the sight. The woman had gone to stand at the teen’s bedside, holding her hand. Amy ran a hand through her blonde curls, looking down at the girl with concern written all over her face.

“Yes, she’ll be absolutely fine,” He assured, walking over to the two. “She’ll be a bit weak when she wakes up but otherwise unharmed,” The alien added, letting her know before the girl woke.

“That’s good,” Amelia replied, sounding as if she wasn’t really listening to the alien.

“Are you alright Amelia?” The Doctor asked. The use of her name snapped Amy out of her thoughts. She knew that whenever he used her name like that it meant that he was worried about her.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Amy answered, smiling slightly. Letting go of the teen’s hand, she turned fully to look at the Timelord. “But we need to talk. Rory’s waiting for us in the kitchen,” The woman announced.

“Now?” The alien implored, looking down to the teen. He didn’t want to just leave her here so she could wake up all alone. Charlie hadn’t seen this room before. What if she panicked? What if she hurt herself in the process?

“Yes, now Doctor,” Amy retorted before changing her tone to a softer one. “I know you want to stay here with her, but we really do need to talk,” She insisted, putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. Amy felt his shoulders sag before he shrugged her off.

“Alright then,” He replied dejectedly, giving in to the redhead. He agreed with her though; they really needed to talk. But he would prefer it if Charlie was there with them, helping to explain or come up with solutions when she could offer no explanation. The whole idea of talking about the teen without her present was still bothering him.

“Let’s go then,” Amy said quietly, leading the way. She looked over her shoulder a few times to make sure that he was walking behind her. She half expected the Timelord to run back to the teen as soon as she turned away from him.

Rory looked up as the two entered the kitchen and stood up immediately.

“Is she –”

“She’s fine Rory, you can sit down,” The Doctor stated, knowing what the man was going to ask. He didn’t feel like explaining details for a second time within a ten minute span.

Rory simply nodded and poured two extra cups of tea before sitting down and taking a sip from his own. The others took their usual seats and for a moment, no one said anything. They just drank their tea in silence. Each was waiting for one of the others to initiate the conversation.

“So, what exactly did you want to talk about?” The Doctor inquired, putting his hands in front of him. He noticed as the couple shared a look before Rory spoke up.

“About Charlie,” He said, fiddling with his cup a bit. “We want to know what you know about her situation at home and at school, but that can wait.” He paused, choosing his next words carefully before exhaling and continuing. “What we all need to talk about is what happened last night.”

The table went silent. No one was quite sure what to say. Not even the Doctor had the faintest idea of what had happened to the girl to put her in the state she was in now. It wasn’t like he didn’t put any thought into it – when did he have the time to? – but he had been preoccupied with other things.

“I really don’t know anything about the details,” The Timelord sighed before continuing, “but I do know that she made a prophesy. Well, she didn’t make it, only passed it on,” He added as an afterthought.

“‘The two seen first will be lost to you, taken by stony hands. A stolen child will face unbearable pain, hiding behind a stony mask. The one that you seek to protect will die by your hand, or shall destroy all that you sacrificed everything to save,’” Amy relayed, repeated what Charlie had said before.

“What does that even mean?” She asked, looking at the two.

“I have no idea,” Rory replied, shaking his head. None of it had made sense to him. Maybe it was because it wasn’t supposed to make sense to him, but to someone else. He turned to look at the Doctor. “Have any ideas?” He asked.

The Doctor remained silent for a bit, thoughts racing through his head more than usual. He had a faint clue about the first line, but the majority of it was lost to him.

“You both were the first two faces my current face saw,” The Timelord finally said, looking up at the couple. He watched as the information sunk in quickly. His companions both proceeded to look a little panicked – which they had every right to be.

“But it says ‘will be lost to you,’” Amy spoke up quickly, searching her best friend’s face for an answer. “What does it mean lost? Doctor?” She asked, getting more worried the longer he kept silent.

“I don’t know!” The Timelord barked, finally saying something.

He didn’t mean to shout and startle the two, but the Timelord couldn’t help it. The words were much too familiar and he knew very well what they meant. The Doctor didn’t want it to be true. Looking at both Amy and Rory in turn, he felt ashamed and decided to instead turn his gaze onto his hands.

Not a single word was uttered for the next few moments after the alien’s outburst and the three simply sat there in silence. Each was left to interpret the words with their new piece of information in mind. Finally, Rory spoke up once more, knowing that Amy wouldn’t speak and the Doctor certainly wasn’t going to say anything.

“What about the second line?” The man asked, avoiding the remainder of the first. He looked at the others, hoping for an answer. “Who’s the stolen child?”

“Maybe Charlie?” Amy suggested half-heartedly. “Wasn’t she adopted?” She asked, glancing at the Doctor for confirmation. He nodded his head.

“Yes, Charlie was adopted,” The Doctor affirmed, pushing his half-full cup away. “But I wouldn’t consider adoption being the same as stolen,” He countered, leaning back in the chair.

“I’ve got to agree with him,” Rory said.

“Alright, fair enough,” Amy admitted before continuing. “But then who’s the child? I don’t know any kids.”

“Neither do I,” Rory added, turning his gaze to the Timelord. “Doctor?”

“I don’t either,” He replied after searching his memory a bit. None of them could make any sort of guess on who that line was referring to. “What about the next line then?”

“You tell us,” Amy replied simply, looking at him carefully. “‘The one that you seek to protect will die by your hand, or shall destroy all that you sacrificed everything to save.’ That has to be referring to you,” She explained.

“Well, I don’t want to talk about it,” The Doctor said, crossing his arms, trying not to let his guilt consume him. He understood perfectly well what that line meant.

“You’re going to have to Doctor, you brought it up,” Rory pushed, trying to get the stubborn alien to explain.

“That’s because I didn’t remember the line,” The Timelord defended, trying his best to avoid the subject.

“What did you sacrifice everything to save?”

The Timelord remained silent, pushing all of his thoughts into a corner of his mind before they took control. Amy noticed the conflict going on inside his head and put a hand over his.

“You can tell us Doctor,” She said softly. He took his hand away and stood up, leaving the kitchen completely. The couple was left to watch him storm out of the room.

“That could’ve gone worse,” Rory sighed, picking up the dishes. Walking over to the sink, he started to wash them. “Should we go after him?” He asked, looking back at his fiancée.   

“No,” She replied, getting up to help him. “He’s going to need some time to himself,” Amy explained, drying the cups before putting them away.

“Do you have any idea what he did?” Rory asked, glancing over to the redhead. She shook her head, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“I don’t. He never mentioned anything like that. None that I can recall anyways,” She remarked, shrugging her shoulders slightly. What did he do that made him hide it from everyone? How bad could it be? Why did he hide it from her?

Amy remembered their experience with the ‘Dream Lord’ who had actually been part of the Doctor. He had teased her on her belief that she was the one the Doctor trusted, that he told her everything. She realized now more than ever that this wasn’t the case.

“Maybe he’ll tell us once he’s cooled down,” Rory suggested, noticing that the woman looked a bit distressed. She nodded slightly, seeming as though she wasn’t really paying attention.

“Yeah, maybe,” She replied, though she highly doubted it. When the Doctor wanted to hide something, what were the chances that they would make him reveal it?

Very, very slim.

**. . .**

She was back in the same building, sitting across from the one person she hated more than anything; Alistair Isherwood. Charlie’s arms and legs were strapped down so she couldn’t move. More specifically, so she couldn’t smack the man.

“What do you want this time Isherwood?” The teen inquired, trying to keep her temper down. After the last meeting, she didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of knowing he had made her frustrated.

“You manners have improved greatly,” Alistair commented, sipping his cup of tea before setting it aside. “We simply want to help you remember. Do you recall that?”

“I do now,” Charlie replied, realizing that when she had woken up, she couldn’t remember a single detail of the meeting. “Why do you find it necessary to wipe my memory when I wake up?”

“It stops you from telling the Doctor what happens here,” Isherwood answered, giving the teen his attention for now. “I could say anything I want and you wouldn’t be able to tell the Timelord,” He explained further, a smirk on his face. The girl really didn’t have any power in their situation.

“That simply proves that you’re scared of him,” Charlie stated, keeping her voice level. So far, she had done a good job to contain any emotion she felt. It was tested when the man laughed, but there was no expression on her face.

“Not scared silly girl,” He laughed and the teen’s hand twitched slightly. “I don’t want him meddling until we’re done and it’s too late for him to find another way. It’s much easier and will be much more fun to watch him struggle when the moment arrives.”

“And what moment is that exactly?” She questioned, trying to keep him talking for as long as she could. Charlie was well aware of what would happen after they were done having their chat. She really was in no rush to go through that again.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Isherwood smirked. It was clear that he wouldn’t make the mistake of telling her any vital information.

“Why not just tell me?” Charlie pressed. “After all, you said that I would remember nothing when I wake up. There really is no risk,” She pointed out before realizing something. She leaned forward, a smirk firmly placed on her face. “Unless that isn’t quite true. Is it?” She asked, though the teen already knew the answer to that question.

“I can see why he keeps you around,” Alistair commented. “You really are a clever one.”

“Oh you haven’t seen nothing yet Isherwood,” Charlie remarked, leaning back in the chair to get as comfortable as she could. Which was difficult considering that it was a metal chair. “So I could potentially remember what happens during these. . .chats if something triggers my subconscious memory,” The teen said aloud, more for her own benefit – to hear her thoughts – rather than to get confirmation from the man in front of her.

She was starting to enjoy their little dance a bit after all.

“In theory,” The Victorian man replied, “but I wouldn’t suggest doing that. Not with us messing around in your head as well.”

“Why not?” She interrogated. “If something triggers it and the Doctor finds out, he’ll put an end to this and you’ll have to think of something else. Good luck with that, because, well, it’s the Doctor,” She finished with a smirk.

“That’s what you think,” Isherwood commented, glancing at the girl. “Do you really have that much faith in him?”

“Yes,” The teen replied firmly without any hesitation. “Now, don’t change the subject. Why should I not try to trigger my memory?”

The man sighed and sat up a bit straighter. “You trigger those memories and there’s no telling what will happen to you,” He said coolly.

“You’re lying,” The teen replied, observing the man’s movements carefully. He raised an eyebrow, a slight smile on his face.

“Do you really want to take the chance?” He challenged the girl. It was safe to say he was slightly surprised when the girl smirked.

“Oh yes. I would,” Charlie replied.

“You would die.”

“You need me,” She pointed out with a slight shrug.

“You are just as useful dead,” Isherwood countered.

“But you’re not just interested in me to simply sell off to an enemy. There’s a grand scheme going on here,” The teen returned, grinning slightly.

“What would give you that idea?” The man inquired, slightly curious as to how the girl had come to that conclusion.

“Why would you awaken hidden memories if I would be equally as useful dead?” Charlie retorted, raising her eyebrow in challenge. She was sure that the subject would be changed now that she had stumped Mr. Alistair Isherwood.

“Very good Ms. Jackson,” Alistair commented, “but that still doesn’t prove that I’m lying,” He pointed out.

“Yes, it does,” Charlie replied before explaining. “Why would you challenge me to try when it’s clear that you need me alive for an extended amount of time? It seems rather foolish, especially if there was a chance that I would accept your challenge. You would have lost your prize and destroyed any work that you did.”

“Time can be rewritten.”

“But why waste the time? It makes no sense, especially considering who you are,” The teen remarked, really starting to get into the conversation.

“By all means, continue child,” Isherwood said once the girl had stopped talking.

“You wouldn’t take the risk of losing time by telling me the truth. If I had done it, everything would be for waste. Therefore, by telling me a lie, you save yourself from anything going wrong,” Charlie finished, feeling rather pleased with herself.

Instead of acknowledging a word of what the teen had said, Alistair Isherwood simply snapped his fingers and the man from last time walked into the room.

“Do your work,” Isherwood ordered simply before walking out of the room. Leaving Charlie to endure the pain once more.

**. . .**

The TARDIS realized that the Doctor wanted to be alone after he stormed off and made sure to rearrange herself whenever his companions started looking for him. It was clear that he needed some time to himself – even more than what the humans thought he needed – so she allowed him to have that time.

He simply roamed the halls, avoiding certain places – such as the library – that would remind him of what he was trying to forget. In the end, the Doctor ended up in the art gallery, barely paying attention to the works of art surrounding him.

The Doctor was a bit disappointed in himself for storming out of the kitchen, but what else could he do? He never wanted to speak about what he had done – what he had sacrificed – to save the universe. Thinking about it felt like someone was crushing his hearts, and even that didn’t cover the feeling.

Despite almost always thinking about that certain event in his life, he managed to stop it from consuming him the majority of the time.

Now was not one of those times.

How could he explain it to his companions? How could he make them see that what he did was necessary? How could he make them understand the pain he had to live with every single day of his cursed existence?!

The TARDIS hummed quietly, trying to comfort her Timelord the best she could. All the Doctor wanted was for someone to understand what he was going through, not just sympathize with his situation.

“Doctor!”

The Timelord stopped walking and turned around, wondering if he had heard correctly or if his mind was playing tricks on him.

“DOCTOR!”

This time the Timelord knew that he wasn’t imagining things and realized that the voice belonged to none other than Charlie. A panicking Charlie. The Doctor began sprinting towards the medical bay; the TARDIS helping him out by making him take the shortest route possible before changing herself to her normal layout.

Finally the Doctor ran into the room just as Charlie began to calm down enough to look around at the machines she was hooked up to. The teen looked ready to scream again before she caught sight of the Timelord in the doorway. She closed her mouth quickly and the Doctor couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh, hush up and help me,” Charlie said, but there was a joking tone accompanying her words.

“Someone’s in a hurry,” He commented with a grin. He shut off the machines before unhooking the teen and helping her sit up before taking a seat at her bedside.

“How’re you feeling?” The Doctor asked, feeling her forehead. She smiled slightly and moved out of the way of the hand.

“I’m fine. A bit tired though,” Charlie mused, yawning slightly. The Timelord made a move to stand up.

“Maybe I should let you rest. . . ” He trailed off, feeling inconsiderate. He should have known the girl would feel tired, and he did know that she would be feeling weak for a while, yet he still sat down. Those thoughts were banished when she grabbed the sleeve of his tweed jacket.

“I really don’t feel like being alone right now,” The teen admitted, looking up at him. “Please stay.”

The Doctor smiled and nodded. Charlie seemed to make him smile so easily, even after all the moping he had been doing today. “Alright, I guess I’ll stay,” He agreed, taking his seat once more. Charlie grinned when he did.

“So, what did I miss while I was knocked out?” She asked, curious as to what the others had done. “What even happened to me?” Charlie inquired, finding that she couldn’t remember why she was here in the first place.

The Doctor sighed internally, but didn’t let the teen see that he was dreading answering her questions. But that’s what he did. For the next half an hour he told the teen about everything that had happened, starting from the time she had collapsed to when he ran into the room. Once he was finished, Charlie looked at if she was going to faint again.

“Repeat what I said again. Please,” Charlotte requested, needing to hear it once more.

“‘The two seen first will be lost to you, taken by stony hands. A stolen child will face unbearable pain, hiding behind a stony mask. The one that you seek to protect will die by your hand, or shall destroy all that you sacrificed everything to save,’” The Doctor repeated for the girl.

She listened carefully, trying to pick at the prophesy and figure out what it meant. No matter what she came up with, it didn’t fit quite right. The teen knew that she wouldn’t be able to figure this out without everyone else’s help. Especially the Timelord’s.

“Just forget about it Charlie,” The Doctor said softly, noticing her expression and how pale she got in the past minute. “You’re still healing. We’ll talk about it later, alright?”

Charlie was about to protest when her own yawn engulfed her words. The Doctor laughed, ruffling the girl’s hair gently.

“How about we get you something to eat before you go back to sleep, hmm?” He asked, just as her stomach growled.

“Food sounds great,” She replied with a sheepish smile. Charlie made a move to stand up, but her legs wobbled too much for her to take a step. “Now I know how you felt while skating yesterday,” She commented, holding the bed for support.

“Not much fun, is it?” He teased before getting up and picking the teen up bridal style. She grabbed his jacket tightly, just waiting for the Timelord to drop her. Instead, he laughed. “Just trust me,” The Doctor said, repeating her words from yesterday.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Charlie said dryly, smacking him lightly. She shrieked when he faked dropping her and grabbed the jacket even tighter.

“Sorry, were you saying something?” The Doctor asked, feigning innocence. The teen simply scowled at him.

“Just get me to the kitchen,” She muttered.

“Your wish is my command.”

**. . .**

Upon reaching the kitchen, they discovered that their dinner was sitting on the table, cold. Amy and Rory must have waited for them for a while, but after too much time had passed they had eaten and headed to their rooms.

“Will you all be alright in the morning?” Charlie asked, sitting at the table while the Timelord heated up their food. He paused and turned around to face the girl.

“I’m not sure,” The Doctor admitted, sighing. “I hope we are.”

Charlie smiled slightly, noticing how depressed the man seemed to be thinking about what had happened. “Don’t worry Doctor. I have a feeling everything will be forgotten after a good night’s sleep.”

“I’m counting on you being right,” The Timelord grinned slightly at the teen’s confidence. “Now, dinner is served!” He announced, putting the plates of spaghetti down with a flourish.

So the two talked throughout their dinner, avoiding the touchy subjects of the day. They saved them in the back of their minds to discuss another time.  For now they had to enjoy whatever little time they had before that time came.

Knowing their luck, it would come all too soon.

But for now, their only worry was burning their mouths with steaming spaghetti.


	11. Chapter 11

It had been almost two weeks since the prophecy incident and Charlie was healing nicely. She was well enough on the third day to travel, but waited until the ninth day before she couldn’t listen to the Doctor’s speeches about needing to rest; mainly because she refused to be stuck in bed when she felt perfectly fine.

“Are you sure you feel alright?” The Doctor asked the teen for the twentieth time. She sighed and shot him an exasperated look.

“Yes Doctor, I’m completely fine. I promise,” Charlie said with a small smile to reassure the alien. He nodded slightly.

“If she says she’s alright, then she’s alright Doctor,” Amy spoke up, taking the teen’s side. “Besides, she’ll let us know if anything’s wrong, right?” The redhead asked, shooting the younger girl a glance.

“Of course. So can we please go somewhere?” Charlie begged, tugging on the alien’s sleeve gently, giving her best puppy eyes. The Doctor turned his eyes away from the teen and onto Rory – who was leaning against the railing with a slight smirk on his face – silently begging him for help.

His response?

A shake of his head.

“Thanks a lot,” He grumbled before turning back to the teen on his sleeve and sighing. “Alright! Next stop, somewhere amazing.”

“Yes! Thank you!” Charlie cheered with a grin, giving the Timelord a hug. He chuckled and returned it before moving to fly his ship.

Amy and Rory shared a look between themselves. It was obvious that their driver couldn’t say no to the girl – not when she wanted something so desperately. But it was only natural – he had saved this wonderful teenager from terrible things. The Doctor was the only to actually see what the result of the girl’s past had done to her.

Meanwhile, said teenager was watching the Timelord keenly, trying to memorize how he flied the marvelous ship that she had learned to call home, but it was near impossible.

“I’ll teach you one day if you like,” The Timelord said when he caught sight of Charlie watching him. She seemed embarrassed and looked away, tugging her sleeve.

“That would be nice,” She mumbled, looking at her sleeve. He gave her a small smile before heading to the doors.

“But first, Pondinium!” He announced, throwing open the doors.

It turned out that Pondinium was a planet that was covered in small ponds and puddles. That wasn’t it of course – the bodies of water varying in size would show possible versions of a person’s future.

“How is that possible?” Amy asked when the alien announced this piece of information.

“It’s the psychic resonance,” The Doctor explained, that usual excited expression on his face. “It taps into your memories, the ones deep down in your subconscious.”

“Okay, that’s pretty cool,” Rory commented, looking out at the planet. The Doctor clapped his hands together before waving the three off.

“Go on! Explore!”

The three companions didn’t need to be told twice and spread out, getting a good look at their new location. Charlotte took in as much of the area as she could, marvelling at everything.

The ground gave off a sort of purple hue, an orange star against the background of a delicate pink sky with strings of clouds in a deeper pink. Rock formations sprouted out of the ground, twisted and glorious.

She really wished she had her notebook with her; it was probably sitting in her locker at school if it hadn’t been cleared out yet. There was no way she could remember her travels in enough detail later on in her life, but she couldn’t see a way she could let herself forget even how the air felt.

Charlie meandered a bit farther away than she had already been from the TARDIS and the others. She had come across several ponds, but couldn’t bring herself to look into one of them. Did she really want to know what was in store for her? Even if it was just a possibility and may not come true, did she really want to glimpse what was in store for herself?

A peek couldn’t hurt, could it?

She was steeling herself to look into the water when she heard a splash and the call of “Rory!” before another splash. Charlie turned around and ran to the pond the Doctor was also running towards. It was a few minutes before Amy and Rory emerged from the water, but they weren’t alone.

A large, green, slimy-looking creature with six tentacles emerged from the water just as the two scrambled out.

“Doctor, what is that?!” Rory shouted, holding Amy’s hand as they ran away from the pond.

“She’s an Aquarpey,” The Doctor replied, keeping his eyes on the creature. “She must’ve been stranded here. For a long time too, judging by all the ponds here.”

“You mean she created them all?” The redhead inquired, looking over at the Timelord. He nodded.

“The ponds act as a sort of trap that stranded Aquarpey make,” He explained.

“And you told us to explore.”

“I thought no one would fall in! Besides, I didn’t know that an Aquarpey was still stranded.”

Charlie half-listened to Amy and the Doctor, and was mildly aware of Rory getting over his shock, but the majority of her attention was on the crea- _Aquarpey._ There was something off. She was staring into another pond and her shoulders – well, what the teen _assumed_ were shoulders – were slumped.

Without realizing it, the teen walked closer to the creature, until she was standing beside her. Now she could see that the expression on the Aquarpey’s face was a mix between heart-wrenching pain and joy. Charlie studied the creature a bit longer, trying to figure out what it was seeing in the pool.

“Doctor,” The teen called softly, now understanding what could cause such an expression. “She’s lonely.”

The adults snapped their heads up to find Charlie standing beside the creature, silent tears running down her face.

“I think you’re right,” He replied, moving closer and catching the Aquarpey’s expression.

“I can feel it Doctor. She’s so sad,” The teen replied softly, gazing at the creature with sympathy.

The Doctor looked behind him to find that Amy and Rory had joined the duo and were sporting similar expressions. A smile spread across his face before he wiped a tear from the teen’s face and tapped her nose.

“We’ll just have to take her home, won’t we?”

**. . .**

It had taken a bit of persuasion, but the four of them had managed to coax the Aquarpey into the TARDIS and were about to leave when Charlie glanced into a pool by accident and almost stopped in her tracks.

She was standing in the middle of what looked like a war-zone, bodies wearing high-collared red robes littered around her. There was someone with a similar red robe standing behind her, but she couldn’t make out the face.

And then there was a sonic she recognized much too well raised at her weakly, as if still debating whether to do something or not.

The Charlotte in the pool raised her gun and shot it in the direction of the sonic, watching as the hand dropped at once, the screwdriver rolling away. She picked it up and presented it to the figure behind her.

The pool rippled and the image was now one of Earth. Cybermen and other races she couldn’t identify were wreaking havoc wherever she looked. She shot anyone that got in her way, but lowered her gun when she found Jack standing in front of her, his own gun pointed at her, a pained expression on his face.

Jack said something and she just laughed, twirling her gun in her hand. He took the opportunity to shoot her in the chest. She raised her left hand to try and staunch the bleeding while pointing the gun in her right at Jack and pulling the trigger. The two crumpled to the ground almost at the very same moment.

“Charlie, come on!” The Doctor called from the TARDIS. The teen tore her gaze away from the pool, unable to watch much longer.

“Coming!” She managed to say, putting a smile on her face before turning around and joining everyone else inside the TARDIS.

Why did she have to look?

What did she become?

_How?_

**. . .**

Charlie was sitting in the theatre of the TARDIS after they had dropped off the Aquarpey to her home. She had tried to clear her mind in the library, but even books couldn’t soothe her mind. Besides, it would be the second place that anyone would look for her, after her room. She wasn’t quite sure she wanted to be found.

So she sat in the dark of the theatre, staring at the blank screen, wishing her mind was as blank. It was possible that she wouldn’t become that. . .that _thing_ that she saw, but it felt so familiar. Like she had seen it before. . .

The teen winced as a sharp pang of pain shot through her head. Clutching it for a moment, she decided not to think about her déjà vu moment any longer. Instead, she turned her attention to the screen.

“TARDIS, please show me Isabelle,” She asked, wanting to see her friend.

The screen came to life, revealing that her closest friend was getting ready for a trip with her parents. She kept glancing at her phone, as if willing for it to ring. Charlotte smiled slightly. She would have to call her once her mind had settled down a bit.

“Show me London.”

This continued for a while, Charlie requesting to see different things.

“Show me that day making pancakes.”

“Show me the Halohawks.”

“I wonder what Jack is doing.”

“Could you show me my first meeting with the Doctor?”

“I’d like to see my parents.”

The screen went blank for a moment before a jumble of words appeared on the screen. Suddenly the words ‘Error #2950654’ flashed on the screen. Charlotte had no idea what the numbers meant. Maybe the TARDIS didn’t hear her?

“TARDIS, can you show me my parents please?”

Once again, the same error code flashed on the screen. She would have to ask the Doctor about it later. Writing the number on her arm, Charlie decided that she didn’t want to see anymore and made her way to her room to get a bit of sleep before dinner.

**. . .**

“Have any of you seen Charlie?” Amy asked, walking into the kitchen, where Rory was teaching the Doctor a new card game. The two shook their heads.

“Haven’t seen her since we dropped off the Aquarpey,” The Doctor answered, looking up from the cards. “Is something wrong?” He asked immediately, eyebrows scrunching together slightly.

“No, nothing like that. I was just wondering,” She replied, leaning on a chair.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Rory piped up, putting down the cards. “She probably wants some time alone. She is a teenager after all.”

Amy shrugged slightly. “I’m not too sure. Did any of you think she was a bit off?”

There was a pause in the conversation. Rory and the Doctor both glanced at each other, as if sharing the same thought. The teen did seem a bit off after their visit to Pondinium, but none of them knew why. Before anyone could answer though, said teen walked into the kitchen.

“Hey there Charlie,” The Doctor said with a grin, putting his own cards down. “Where’ve you been?”

Charlie shrugged slightly, opening the fridge to grab something to drink. “I was just in the theatre for a while. Felt a bit sleepy so I went to my room after that. I guess I missed dinner, huh?” She asked with a slight smile, noticing the dishes that were left on the rack to dry.

“I wrapped yours and put it in the fridge,” Rory commented, making a move to get up.

“It’s ok, I’ll find it,” Charlie responded, waving her hand in a slightly dismissive gesture, giving him a slight smile. It took her a few moments to locate her wrapped up dinner before she put it in the microwave.

She wasn’t stupid. The teen knew that something was wrong; something was _off._ Her best guess was that it had something to do with her, since she could feel all three sets of eyes on her whenever she turned her back. They were hiding something from her.

“Is everything alright?” She finally asked, taking a swig of her coke. “It’s just, you guys are awfully quiet.”

“Yeah, everything’s fine, don’t worry Charlie,” Amy replied with a smile. It was convincing, sure, but Charlie knew what fake smiles looked like. She had given and received enough to know the difference.

“Alright then. Just checking,” The teen said. A smile spread across her face, but she wished she meant it. “I’m going to eat in my room if you don’t mind.” Another smile, grabbing her coke and the teen was gone.

Leaving the three adults to ponder on their previous conversation. None of them wanted to be the first to speak, so the boys returned to their game and Amy simply watched. They knew they would have to confront the teen on this and allowed themselves to think of what they would say when they did.

**. . .**

For the next two weeks, things had returned to normal. Charlie seemed to have returned to her normal self and the rest of the occupants could relax once more. That is, whenever they weren’t running around saving planets.

They had just returned from Ancient Rome and – well, let’s just say that Amy almost got married to the Emperor, Rory punched said Emperor, Charlie was mistaken for a goddess – due to her not taking being treated less than a man – and the Doctor had quoted people that hadn’t even been thought of yet, all while almost starting a war.

It had been a wonderful trip despite all the things that had happened.

But they could really use some rest to recover from the events of the day. Charlie was hoping to take a nice, long, hot shower before reading in the library for a bit when ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’ filled the TARDIS.

“I almost forgot about this thing,” She mused, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, checking the screen to see who was calling her. Amy shot Rory a look and the two walked off to their room, giving the girl some privacy.

“Who is it?” The Doctor asked while he flew the ship, a bit curious as to why she hadn’t picked up the phone already.

“It’s Isabelle,” Charlie replied, hovering over the answer button. After a few more seconds she picked up and held the phone to her ear. The Doctor headed down to meddle with the TARDIS and give the girl some privacy. He also wanted to be close by, just in case she wanted someone to talk to.

“Hello?”

“Charlie?! Thank god you picked up!” Isabelle half-shouted in relief. “Where the hell have you been? Are you hurt? We’ve been looking for you.”

“I’m alright Izzy, don’t worry about me,” Charlie replied, smiling slightly. Realizing that the Doctor could probably hear their conversation, she made her way to her room, shutting the door behind her.

“Where are you? No one’s seen you for weeks now.”

“Has it really been that long there?” She asked, a bit shocked at how much time had passed.

“Yes! And what do you mean by there? Where are you Charlie? Please tell me, my parents will come pick you up,” Isabelle begged on the line.

Charlie sighed. “I can’t tell you that. I don’t even know where we are.”

“We?” Isabelle jumped to immediately. “What do you mean by ‘we’? Who else is there? Did they kidnap you?”

“No! They really didn’t Izzy, calm down,” Charlie said quickly, trying to soothe her friend. “I’m fine, please don’t worry. I’m happy.”

“Charlie, want to help me with dinner?” Rory asked, knocking on – but not opening – the door.

“Who was that?” Isabelle asked.

“No one. It doesn’t matter. Listen, I’ll see you soon. Hopefully. Goodbye,” Charlie answered quickly, dodging her questions entirely.

“Wait! Hol– ”

Charlie had already hung up and was making her way to the kitchen with Rory.

Isabelle sighed when her friend hung up on her and looked over to the officers. “Did you manage to trace the call?”

“We tried, the call was long enough, but there wasn’t a location to trace it back to,” The female officer answered, taking off her headphones.

“There has to be a way you can find her,” Isabelle’s mother pressed.

“Relax ma’am,” Another officer, the male one, replied. “She said she would be visiting soon. We’ll keep an eye out. As soon as we find her and her kidnappers, we’ll make sure they’re punished.”

**. . .**

“What’re you doing up Charlie?” Amy yawned, walking over to sit down beside the teen. The redhead had woken up to grab some water but her route changed when she saw that the younger girl’s door had been left open and she wasn’t inside. A little bit of investigating led her to finding the girl sitting on the steps leading down to the control panel.

The girl shrugged, tugging her oversized sweater around her a bit tighter. “I couldn’t sleep. Well, I did for a bit but then I woke up again,” Charlotte admitted.

“How long did you sleep for?” The elder questioned, worried for the younger. She did a good job of masking it enough so Charlie wouldn’t feel smothered by all the concern that had been thrown her way.

“About four hours. I don’t feel tired though,” Charlie responded, looking at the console. A silence fell between the two. It had taken the teen a bit longer to bond with Amy, but they had gotten there in the end. After a while the silence was too much for Amy to take.

“Where’s the Doctor?” She asked.

“He’s out again,” Charlotte replied, glancing over at her. “He does that a lot. Doesn’t need to sleep as much as we do.”

Amy raised her eyebrow slightly. “Does he know you don’t sleep much?”

The blonde shook her head. “I never told him about it and I don’t let him see me most of the time, but I think he might be suspicious.”

“He probably won’t bug you about it. He’d be a hypocrite if he did,” Amy said with a small smile, which the teen returned. A question was on the woman’s mind, but she was afraid of overstepping her boundaries with the teen. Her need to know won in the end.

“Do you ever miss your old life?”

Charlie looked at her and tilted her head slightly, as if pondering the question. Amy regretted asking when she saw a look of hurt flit across the girl’s face but before she could apologize, Charlotte spoke.

“I don’t,” She started, looking back at the doors of the TARDIS. “I really don’t miss it at all. The only person I miss is Isabelle.” Charlie looked back at the woman and smiled, as if she knew something she didn’t. But the smile was not one of happiness – no, it was an empty one, one full of pain. “You don’t miss what you never had.”

“And what would be that?” Amy asked, turning a bit to look at the girl better.

“A family. A proper one anyways,” Charlie replied, stretching her legs out. “I found one right here.”

A grin spread on the redhead’s face. They had done what they wanted to. They made the teen feel like she had a family. It was a big leap since their first meeting and Amy couldn’t be happier. There was still a long way to go though.

“Are you two honestly awake?” The Doctor asked once he waltzed back through the doors. “Having some girl chat, eh?”

“It’s a secret,” Amy said with a smirk, standing up. Charlie stayed where she was sitting and simply stuck out her tongue. The Doctor did the same, which made the teen laugh.

“Keeping secrets from me now? I’m hurt,” The Doctor joked. Amy simply waved her hand dismissively and gave the teen a wink before heading back to her room.

The Timelord leaned against his ship’s console; his coat tossed aside unceremoniously, arms crossed over his chest. He watched the teen and smiled slightly to himself. Nothing made him happier than seeing his companions become a family.

“What were you doing up?” The Doctor asked the girl. She shrugged slightly.

“Couldn’t sleep after a couple hours,” Charlie replied simply. She played with the sleeve of her sweater. “It’s weird. The longer I’m here, the less I sleep.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” He replied with a grin for the teen’s sake. The Timelord wasn’t stupid; he had his suspicions. The thing about his suspicions was that they were almost always correct.

Now there was the problem of whether or not he wanted to be right this time.

“So, what were you off doing?” Charlie asked, snapping the alien out of his thoughts.

“Oh, you know, running errands,” He replied vaguely, waving his hands in his usual manner. A slight grin pulled at his lips. When Charlie caught sight of it, she raised an eyebrow.

“What did you bring Doctor?” She asked, getting up and walking down to meet him. The teen attempted to see if he was hiding anything behind his back. The Timelord held up his hands and turned around.

“See? Nothing.”

“I don’t believe you,” Charlie replied, stepping back and looking around. Her eyes lit up. “The coat!”

Unfortunately, the Doctor snatched it up before she could grab it. “No peeking. It’s a surprise,” He said, tapping her nose. Charlie pouted slightly, but nodded.

“Alright. I’m off to the library,” She said with a slight smile.

“Read something good!” The Doctor called as the girl disappeared from sight. He let out a breath. There wasn’t a chance that he would let her find out about her birthday present so soon. Sure, he was a month early, but it was never too early to plan.

**. . .**

_“How much longer until we can get the girl?”_

_“Just a bit longer. Have patience.”_

_“I am tired of waiting Isherwood. Finish your work and get the girl.”_

_“Wouldn’t want her burning up on us, would you? You’ve waited this long, you can wait a bit longer.”_

_The first man looked at Alistair as he sipped his wine. “Are you having second thoughts? Feeling sympathy for your old friend?” His tone was casual, but accusatory undertones accompanied the delivery of the words._

_Isherwood put down his own glass and turned his full attention on the other man. “You understand nothing. Absolutely nothing. I suggest you watch your words or I will end our little deal boy. You and your life are insignificant compared to mine. Get out of my sight.”_

_The other man was about to argue but appeared to have decided against it and left the room. Isherwood took another sip of his wine._

_“Travel with your precious Doctor for a while longer Ms. Jackson. My work is almost done and yours is ready to begin.”_


	12. Chapter 12

A couple hours later and the four of them were seated around the table, enjoying their breakfast which Amy had – surprisingly – made well. Even the Doctor was eating, which was about as rare as the redhead making breakfast. The usual breakfast chatter filled the table as each of the four put their own two cents into the conversation.

“So, what would you all like to do today?” The Doctor asked, leaning back in his chair. He looked to each of his companions, waiting for someone to suggest something. Amy half-raised her hand.

“How about Rio? A break from running will do us some good,” she suggested, glancing at the others. It had always been a place she had wanted to visit; why not go now, with her best friend, fiancé, and her ‘little sister’?

Charlie shrugged indifferently, ripping a bit of her toast. “Rio sounds nice,” she commented before stuffing the piece in her mouth.

“I could do Rio,” Rory agreed, with a slight nod, drinking the remains of his tea, leaving the dregs in the cup. “It could be fun. No aliens to run from for once.”

Rio did seem like a nice little vacation for all of them, and it would give the Doctor a bit more time to plan while everyone was occupied. Besides, everyone seemed to want to go there, so it only made sense to take them. He’d never hear the end of it from Amy anyways.

“Rio it is then,” he said with his usual goofy grin on his face. Since it was his turn to wash the dishes, the alien gathered up the plates and mugs, balancing them carefully on top of each other. The others watched for a moment before sharing a look between them as to who was going to help the alien before he dropped everything – an event that they were all too much familiar to.

“I’ll go,” Amy whispered as she walked over to the Timelord, relieving his arms from half his load. Charlie and Rory got to their assigned chores, wiping down the table and counters, and sweeping the floor.

“I could have done it myself you know,” the alien huffed, plopping his half into the sink before running the water and beginning his chore. Amy chuckled, placing her pile on the counter.

“Sure you could have,” the redhead replied disbelievingly, “you remember last week, right?”

“That was not my fault!” the Doctor defended himself, passing her dishes to dry. Honestly, how was he supposed to know that the floor was wet? Someone should have put up a sign! Did he even have a sign for that?

“Whatever you say Doctor,” Amy replied with a slight smirk, catching sight of her friend. His clumsiness was endearing in a way; other times it felt like she was dealing with a child. But hey, everyone had their faults.

The Scot was snapped out of her thoughts when the alien beside her flicked some water at her face. A hand rose to wipe the liquid off before raising an eyebrow and returning the favour, splashing water on the alien. Due to his astounding maturity, his response was to stick out his tongue at the woman.

The other two occupants let the exchange go on, busying themselves in their own chores. Well, they had finished their jobs much faster than the duo and were leaning against the table, arms crossed, watching the scene unfold before them.

“Are we on a ship with children?” the blonde whispered her question to the man beside her, a slight smirk on her face. She shoved her slipping glasses up her nose as she watched the pair; they certainly could act like the toddlers she saw while walking down the streets back in London.

“I believe we are,” he replied, leaning over so the others wouldn’t hear, arms crossed over his chest. “But we still keep them around anyways. They’re entertaining.”

“Oi! We can hear you both you know,” Amy hollered, hands on her hips as she glanced over at the duo. They simply shared a look before chuckling to themselves. The alien and the woman both shared a look of offense and shook their heads, trying to not let their smiles show.

“That’s the point love,” Rory said with a slight smirk, though his fiancée couldn’t see it. Charlie bit her lip to stop her laughter from escaping, but her shoulders shook from the contained giggles. Even the Doctor gave a chuckle before ducking out of the redhead’s reach, though she was the victim of her own fit of giggles.

“I believe we should be getting ready for Rio now,” the woman announced after it was clear that their chores would have to be finished another time. She strolled to her room, a slight bounce in her step when she heard the murmured agreement from the others. Rory followed soon after and Charlie simply sat near the console.

“She’s really happy to be going to Rio.” The teen smiled slightly as the Timelord joined her on the seat. “I guess she’s excited to see the festivals and such.”

“I hope so. They really are quite fun,” he replied, resting his elbows on his knees. “What about you then? Excited for the festivals or have you gotten sick of little old me already?” The Timelord bumped her shoulder gently and her grey gaze was in him in a second. The corners of her lips were tugged up.

“Me? Sick of you? Not for a second old man,” the teen replied, raising a hand to mess up the Timelord’s soft brown hair. “I rather like being able to see all of time and space. Company’s not that bad either.”

He chuckled, patting down the spiked up hair. “I’m glad that I’m not boring you Miss Jackson. But then again, how could you be bored on the best ship in the entire universe?”

A giggle escaped her lips and soon the two were laughing, unaware that the other two occupants of the TARDIS were listening in on their conversation. It wasn’t like they had meant to – it just, well, happened.

“Is this wrong?” Rory glanced at the woman beside him, the morality of the situation causing him some grief. His eyes reflected how he felt about the situation. The Scot clamped a hand over his mouth, afraid that the two would hear them.

“It’s not wrong if it was an accident,” Amy mouthed back her reply. Normally she wouldn’t do this to the others, but she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be right to walk in on them just yet. What other option did they have? It was better to at least know what was going on if something happened between them. ‘Now hush up and listen.’

The laughter had died down and neither the teenager, nor the centuries old alien broke the pregnant silence that had fallen between them. Charlie had taken to fiddling with her sleeve, careful to make sure that her arm remained hidden. The Doctor was simply staring at his hands, lost in the depths of his mind. It was only when Charlie jumped slightly beside him that the alien was jolted out of his thoughts.

“Charlie what’s wrong?” He asked immediately; worry creasing his forehead as green eyes turned to look at the girl. She shook her head slightly, dismissing his concern.

“It’s nothing, I just shocked myself,” Charlie replied with a smile, letting her sleeve go. Everything was going so nicely, she didn’t want her own stupid mistakes to ruin the trip for everyone. Unfortunately for her, the Doctor was persistent.

“Don’t lie to me Charlie,” He whispered, searching her grey orbs for any sign of what had happened. “You stopped playing with your sleeve, why would you do that? Very convenient timing.” Before the teen could move away the Timelord had snatched her wrist in a vice-like grip and gently pulled her sleeve up.

“Oh Charlie. . .” His words were soft as he gingerly touched the raised pink scars, some of which had begun bleeding again. It was clear that they were recent. Charlie nearly jumped when the Doctor attempted to clean some of the red liquid that was oozing out.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, casting her gaze downwards so her hair was blocking her face and she wouldn’t have to meet the man’s eyes. Tears were brimming in her eyes and shame was clearly written on her face.

“Why? Why did you do this?” The words were not accusatory, but instead tumbled out of his mouth as if begging. The Doctor couldn’t understand why the teen would do that to herself. Moreover, he blamed himself for not knowing better.

“I. . . I can’t explain why-” Her voice cracked slightly as she lost her battle and tears rolled down her cheeks. Shoulders shook as she sobbed silently. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her, rubbing circles on her back, trying to comfort the girl.

“Shh, it’s okay Charlie, it’s all okay now,” he whispered soothingly, letting her cry into his shoulder. The Doctor squeezed her gently, trying to collect his own thoughts. They remained that way for several minutes until her sobs died down.

“I woke up one morning a few days back and felt so. . . so dreadful,” Charlie finally said, meeting the man’s eyes. “It left me feeling terrible. My head hurt afterwards and I just felt so sad. I couldn’t help myself. Old habits die hard I suppose.” She gave a watery laugh.

“That’s not it though. On Pondinium, I looked into one of the ponds as we were leaving. I killed people. So many people. . .” Her voice drifted off and her eyes were hollow, recalling the incident. The Doctor waited in silence for her to continue; he didn’t want to push her anymore than he already did.

Finally, the teen woke from her thoughts and continued. “I killed Jack and he killed me. But it wasn’t just that. I-I killed you too.” Charlie looked up at him, silently begging for an answer. She was lost, confused, unsure, but most of all, the teen looked frightened.

The Doctor hated that.

The two were so caught up in themselves that they didn’t hear Amy gasp, nor did they notice that the redhead and the nurse had joined them at the console. The woman’s arms were limp at her sides, nails biting into the soft flesh of her palms. Rory’s eyebrows were knitted together, arms crossed over his chest, looking at the floor.

“Just forget it; I don’t want to ruin Rio for us,” the teen finally broke the silence, putting a smile on her face. “How do you think Rio will be at this time of year?” When she didn’t receive a reply, Charlie made a move to stand up. “I need a drink,” she announced before heading to the kitchen.

The Doctor made a move to follow her but Amy shook her head and pushed him back to sit. “I’ll go.” Without waiting for any sort of response, the woman followed the path the girl had taken moments before.

The sight that welcomed her was the teen leaning against the fridge, back facing the entrance, her fists curled by her head. Amy watched on as a sob escaped Charlie’s lips and her shoulders shook as she sank to the floor. The woman would have found it a tad bit dramatic if the situation wasn’t what it was.

Amy was spurred into motion and made her way to the teen in a few steps before kneeling down and wrapping her arms around her. “Shh sweetie, it’s all going to be okay.” Her voice was soft, whispering into Charlie’s ear as she rubbed her back. The teen allowed herself to be hugged and eventually wrapped her arms around the woman.

“I ruin everything I touch,” Charlie mumbled quietly once her sobs began to die down. “She was always right, they were both right. I’m a nuisance.”

Amy wouldn’t stand for any sort of talk like that. She pulled back, looking the girl in the eye. How could she believe such a thing? How could those monsters tell such a kind and wonderful girl that she was a screw up?

“You do no such thing Charlotte.” The woman’s voice was firm and held undertones of anger that were not directed at Charlie, but the monsters that raised her. “You do not ruin anything and you most certainly are not a nuisance, and you never were. Forget what they told you.”

“But I ruined Rio-”

“We couldn’t care less about Rio if you’re hurting Charlie,” Amy cut across, wiping a tear from the teen’s face. “Rory, the Doctor, and I love you a lot. We want to know if something’s wrong and we will never, ever think that you are a nuisance. Alright?”

Charlie nodded slightly, wiping her tears away. “I love you all too Amy,” she said with a slight smile. The woman kissed her forehead in response and stood before helping Charlie to her feet.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, shall we?”

The two walked to the bathroom so that Charlie could clean her face and Amy could bandage the cuts, leaving the two men to think about what had just happened.

“We’ll have to talk about it more,” Rory spoke up, facing the Doctor. The alien ran his hands over his face, weary, but nodded.

“After Rio and she gets her mind off of it. We’ll talk together, including Charlie,” the Doctor stated, making it clear that it wasn’t negotiable. To his surprise, the nurse nodded.

“I think Charlie should be there too. We can sort it out and let her know that we’re here for her,” he agreed, letting his hands slip into his pockets. The two stood in silence before the Doctor finally moved to fly his ship.

He was thankful that Rory didn’t try to speak to him; maybe he could sense that the alien wanted to be left with his thoughts for a while. The Doctor knew he couldn’t put off telling everyone any longer – he had to tell them the truth today, after their trip. There were signs, hints at what was about to happen and it was best that they went into everything with no secrets hidden from each other.

The girls had returned and the Doctor put a smile on his face for them. The three were talking amongst themselves, Rory keeping a protective arm around Charlie’s shoulders in a fatherly manner. It was remarkable at how quickly they became a family.

“Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Rio!” the Doctor announced once his old girl had landed. Amy was the first to poke her head out the door.

“Doctor, this isn’t Rio,” Amy announced, stepping outside. Rory followed after.

“Not really getting the sunshine carnival vibe,” he said, leaning against the side of the ship. Charlie stepped outside and took a look around at their surroundings. They appeared to be in a graveyard if the tombstones were anything to go by; the question was where and when they were. She noticed the grass looked bluish, but didn’t voice her observation. The Doctor jumped out of the TARDIS and hopped in place for a bit.

“Ground feels strange. Just me. Wait. That's weird.” The Doctor was rambling again, mind racing far ahead of his mouth.

“What’s strange?” Rory asked the alien, noticing that said alien had his something’s-about-to-go-down face on and he wasn’t quite sure if he should be excited or worried this time. Amy was a bit impatient as she was getting cold quickly in her choice of clothes.

“Doctor, stop trying to distract us. We're in the wrong place. Doctor, it's freezing and I've dressed for Rio. We are not stopping here. Doctor,” Amy stated, the cold getting to her. “Are you listening to me? It's a graveyard. You promised me a beach,” the woman reminded, rubbing her arms.

Charlie noticed that people were waving at them from quite a distance away. She gave a hesitant wave back before joining the conversation. “I have three questions: when are we, where are we, and who’s waving at us?” Charlie pointed to the people that were waving at the four of them now. There were only two figures standing there.

“There are patches of blue grass all around the graveyard. So, Earth, 2020-ish, ten years in your future, wrong continent for Rio, I'll admit, but it's not a massive overshoot,” the Doctor began, looking pointedly at Amy for a moment. “As for the people waving at us. . .”

He fumbled through his pockets for a bit before pulling out a pair of binoculars and lifting them to his eyes. “It’s the two of you, getting all nostalgic and visiting,” he announced, looking at Amy and Rory. Before anyone could say anything, something else had caught the Doctor’s eye and he began heading towards it.

“Where are we going Doctor?” Charlie asked as the three trudged after the childish alien.

“To the big mining thing!”

**. . .**

_“No! No! No! No! Let me out. Please let me out. I need to get to Rory. That light. If his body's absorbed, I'll forget him. He'll never have existed. You can't let that happen. What are you doing?” Amy shrieked, tears running down her face. She had to get back to him! She couldn’t just let this happen! “Doctor, we can't just leave him there. I’ll forget him!”_

_“Keep him in your mind. Don't forget him. If you forget him, you'll lose him forever,” the Doctor instructed. Charlie was taking care of the other occupants of the TARDIS but she could hear every word. She didn’t want this to happen anymore then Amy did._

_“When we were on the Byzantium, I still remembered the Clerics because I am a time traveller now, you said,” Amy half-sobbed out. This was the same thing, wasn’t it?! The Doctor sighed, delivering the news he was sure she wouldn’t like._

_“They weren't part of your world. This is different. This is your own history changing.”_

_“Don't tell me it's going to be okay. You have to make it okay,” the woman said in a low voice. How could she live without her Rory?_

_“It's going to be hard, but you can do it, Amy. Tell me about Rory, eh? Fantastic Rory. Funny Rory. Gorgeous Rory,” he encouraged her, trying to get her to do as he said. “Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Amy, please. Keep concentrating. You can do this.”_

_“I can't,” she choked out and both the Doctor’s and Charlie’s hearts broke upon hearing the sound._

_“You can. You can do it,” the Doctor replied firmly, not letting her give up on herself; there was too much at stake. “I can't help you unless you do. Come on. We can still save his memory. Come on, Amy. Please. Come on, Amy, come on.” He sighed and wiped away a few of her tears._

_“Amy, please. Don't let anything distract you. Remember Rory. Keep remembering. Rory's only alive in your memory. You must keep hold of him. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind,” he tapped her forehead to cement his point._

That had been a few hours ago. Now Amy held no recollection of Rory and Charlie couldn’t sleep because Rory was all she had on her mind. She had stayed up in her room for the first hour but left it in exchange for a hot cup of tea in front of her in the kitchen. The Doctor slid into the chair across from her a few minutes later.

“Can’t sleep?”

“How can I?” she sighed, pressing her hands against the hot cup as the Doctor poured one in for himself. “It’s just so weird, Rory not being here and Amy not remembering him.”

He nodded his agreement and blew on his cup before taking a sip. “All w can do is hope that Amy’s memories in those last moments were enough to save him.”

“When will we know?” Charlie wanted the man to be back soon; it hadn’t even been a day and she already missed his presence immensely.

“I can’t say. I don’t even know,” the alien admitted, shoulders slumping inwards as he rested his arms on the table, hands wrapped around the warm cup. “We’ll just have to wait.”

“I hate not knowing,” Charlie sighed, taking a sip from her cup to soothe her nerves. The Doctor gave a slight smile in response to that. It was then that Amy had walked into the kitchen. Even if she couldn’t remember Rory, she could remember what happened earlier and would insist to talk about it.

“I have something to tell you both actually,” the Doctor announced, waiting for Amy to sit before continuing so she didn’t have a chance to speak. “When you were in the medical bay, the TARDIS picked up on something. . . odd,” he began, glancing over to look at the teen. Amy remembered when she had gone to visit; the Doctor had looked confused and was inspecting the equipment.

“Define odd Doctor,” Charlie replied, wanting a more definite answer. Was something wrong with her? Was she sick? She really didn’t want to be stuck in the medical bay again.

“I don’t even know how it’s possible. Really, you had none of the signs before and after that episode you had something must’ve triggered the glamour to stop. I don’t even know all the details yet-”

“Doctor,” Amy cut across his ramblings. She was getting worried herself; after all, how bad did it have to be to make him stall so much? “Just get to the point.”

“You have two hearts Charlie,” he blurted and her eyebrows shot up. “I don’t know how or why, but you have the anatomy of a Timelord, which is impossible because they’re all dead. I killed them all.”


	13. Chapter 13

**_“You have two hearts Charlie,” he blurted and her eyebrows shot up. “I don’t know how or why, but you have the anatomy of a Timelord, which is impossible because they’re all dead. I killed them all.”_ **

**. . .**

The group fell silent, trying to take in the information. The Doctor kept his eyes firmly on the teen while Amy flitted back and forth between the two. Charlie didn’t look at either of them in favour of having a staring contest with her tea. The Timelord had to be mistaken, it was ridiculous! Her, a Timelord? It was the most absurd thing she had ever heard!

“You’re lying. You have to be Doctor.” She spoke softly, accusing the alien. She focused her eyes on him, disbelief written over her face. “Whatever you’re trying to pull here, it isn’t funny.”

Amy glanced at the man before leaning back in her chair. Whose side was she going to take if things go bad? “You have to have some sort of proof Doctor,” she reasoned. There was no way he’d be telling them this without having some proof for them to see. It wasn’t enough to trust his word this time.

“Give me a minute then,” he sighed, pushing his chair back to stand. Without another word, the Doctor walked off, leaving the girls in the kitchen. Neither one said a word to the other, nor did they even look at each other. Finally, the alien returned and tossed a file onto the table in front of the teen.

“Those are the scans I took of you when we met, immediately after your episode, then when you started feeling better and the last one is from a day ago,” he stated, returning to his spot. His mind was racing – he couldn’t understand why this was happening and why this girl? Why Charlie? He just wanted to take a broken girl on the trip of a lifetime – why did things always have to get complicated?

Charlie flipped through the papers, showing Amy as well. The first and third ones showed her with only one heart, yet the second and fourth ones revealed another heart beating alongside her own. This couldn’t be true, not for her. She wasn’t a Timelord – Timelady – whatever it was. That was not possible. She was Charlotte Jackson, normal _human_ Charlotte whose parents had really just adopted her.

“There has to be a mistake,” Charlie whispered, furrowing her brow. “This just can’t be true. I’m just me.” The teen took her chances and glanced up to the Doctor, silently begging, hoping for this to all be a joke. Maybe it was April Fool’s Day?

The Doctor shook his head and fished through his pockets for his stethoscope. Putting it on Charlie, he let her listen to what would be her normal heartbeat. “One heart.” He moved it to the other side and, sure enough, Charlie heard another heartbeat. “Two hearts.”

Charlie took the other end from the Doctor and repeated the ‘test’ twice before handing the stethoscope back to him. Her face was void of any emotion at all – that wasn’t reassuring to either one of the adults in the room.

“What now?” Amy piped up, trying to move the conversation forward. “What does this mean for Charlie?”

The Doctor shook his head, his gaze showing his mind was somewhere else entirely. “I honestly don’t know. It’s not too much of a difference since it’s only her anatomy. Her brain though – it still hasn’t changed. I wish I had an answer for all this,” his voice dripped with remorse when he focused on Charlie.

“It’s not your fault that I am the way I am,” she mumbled, not meeting anyone’s gaze. “At least, there’s no way of telling whose fault it is. I have to go.” Shoving her now-cold tea away from her, Charlie stood and practically sprinted out of the kitchen. She needed to go to the library, to get her mind off of this.

Neither one of the adults went after her; they had stayed in the kitchen a while longer before Amy went to her room and the Doctor pretended to fix the TARDIS to occupy himself. Charlie had grabbed any book she could find on the topic of Timelords and studied through the night. She felt as if they explained some of her habits, but she didn’t want to believe it.

Had the Doctor known the entire time? Ever since he saw those drawings of hers that she now knew was Circular Gallifreyan? If he did, was that the reason he took her along?

The truth remained that he had lied to her. He had known for weeks – if not longer – and told her nothing. How could he? She trusted him. She had opened up and gifted another person her trust just to have them lie to her face. Did he even care?

 _‘Of course he didn’t,’_ a voice whispered in her head. _‘He didn’t want to show you the universe. You were just another plaything to him, another mystery to solve.’_

“Go away,” she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut. “Just go away. It’s not true.”

_‘It is though. Didn’t he lie to you? He got everyone to play along and you were foolish enough to believe that they cared for you.’_

“Stop it. Just stop!” she shouted, curling her knees to her chest and burying her face in them. Why couldn’t that damn voice shut up? Why did her mind have to turn against her as well?

_‘You keep getting fooled by these people. They only want to use you, to take advantage of you and when they’re done, they’ll toss you away. Who could ever care about you?’_

Charlotte just gave up. She let her mind taunt her as tears burned her skin as they fell. After all, her mind was her own; it knew everything she had gone through. It was only throwing back at her what she subconsciously believed. Just another thing that was her fault. When Charlie left the library it was quiet. She assumed that Amy was still sleeping and she didn’t really want to know where the Doctor was. She crept quietly to her room, arms full of books and shut the door.

Charlie was determined to learn everything she could about Timelords.

There had been no knocking on her door that day and if there was, she didn’t notice them at all. There had to be an explanation to all this; there was no way she was born a Timelady. The Doctor had killed them all for some reason – she would have to get an explanation about that – and someone would have noticed if a baby had two hearts. She was just Charlie; how could she belong to such an amazing race? No, she was human – Charlie was sure of it.

Raising a hand to her chest, she tried to feel her heart beat. Maybe everything had been a terrible dream. Alas, her meek theory was proven false when she felt both heartbeats in her chest. Would she die quicker if she got cut, since there were two hearts pumping blood? Another question to ask later.

Truth be told, the teen didn’t know why she didn’t just march up to the Doctor and demand answers. A part of her was mad at him for keeping it a secret, and a part was hurt and betrayed from the argument she had with herself. It was for the best that she didn’t search for the Timelord.

For as long as she deemed necessary.

**. . .**

Amy had tried to talk to the teen on several occasions. When she had stormed off to the library, the Scot didn’t feel it would be right to go just then. Charlie needed some time to herself to process the information. Heck, Amy needed some time to understand what had happened herself.

The morning after she had tried knocking on the teen’s door but didn’t receive an answer. She didn’t want to just storm into her room like that, so she respected Charlie’s need for privacy and left her alone. Amy had gone in only once to ask if she had wanted something to eat, but Charlie was so entranced by what she was reading that she didn’t answer her.

It was then that Amy began leaving meals out for Charlie on the kitchen table. She knew that the teen would venture out of her room for food and the least she could do was ensure a warm meal was waiting.

She had continued to knock on the door every day, but as the days wore on, she knocked less and less. Amy made sure that a meal was always waiting not only for Charlie, but the Doctor as well. Only Charlie’s meals ever seemed to be eaten – the Doctor never touched his own.

Amy had spent the next week between knocking on Charlie’s door and trying to break down the Doctor’s. She had forced him to eat the first time she found him after three days. The redhead was worried for her friends; one seemed to become a recluse and the other a ghost.  

How was she supposed to fix them when they kept denying her help?

The Doctor switched between throwing himself into fixing the TARDIS and disappearing completely. It took all of Amy’s restraint to not force the two to sit down together and talk it out. She hated seeing the people she cared about the most destroy themselves.

On the fourth day, Amy began noticing that Charlie’s meals had begun piling up on the table. It seemed that the teen would only eat once a day if even that. The woman began leaving snacks in front of the teen’s door as well so she would at least eat something.

It worked for the first little while and then the teen stopped taking those as well. The Doctor never took his own.

It would be a miracle if they didn’t destroy themselves before this was all over.

Amy didn’t give up once; her personality didn’t know the meaning of giving up. She had pushed for them both to eat in the most passive way she could – leaving food for them everywhere.

Ignoring the lack of a reply from Charlie, Amy began leaving meals on her bedside. She would find some of the plates washed and placed on the counter afterwards and others were still full of food. Others still had bites taken out of them.

The Doctor’s were rarely even touched, but even then there were some meals that had been at least partially eaten. It wasn’t as if Amy could get into the Timelord’s room. The TARDIS had tried her best to lead her to the moping Doctor but even her attempts to help him were futile.

They were going to drive Amy mad.

**. . .**

It seemed that Charlie needed a little more than week to herself before she would finally come out to see the others. She had thrown things in her room, screamed into her pillow, tried convincing herself that it was all a trick, and even stared at the wall as her mind raced to come up with an answer, and she still didn’t fully accept that she was a Timelady.

What she did do though, was make a decision as to what was going to happen next.

She had snuck out when she thought the others were busy to get some food and the TARDIS – even though she didn’t approve – rearranged herself so the teen could avoid the other two occupants. But today Charlie stepped out of her room to talk to the both of them.

When she walked into the kitchen, the two were sitting there, talking in hushed tones. They immediately stopped when they noticed her standing there. Amy seemed a bit surprised to find the girl outside her room but the corner of her mouth turned upwards – she was glad.

The Doctor on the other hand, wouldn’t meet her gaze and seemed to be fascinated with the palms of his hands.

“Nice to see you Charlie,” Amy piped up, walking over to the fridge and grabbing something. “Sit down. I’m going to make sure you eat a proper meal. The both of you.” She shot the Doctor a pointed look – if he saw it or not was a completely different thing but he could _feel_ it.

The table was silent as Amy cooked; neither one of them knew how to talk to the other, so the two remained engrossed with their hands. Charlie risked a glance at the man and noticed that he seemed to be upset. She felt as if she should do something, but the voice in her mind returned and she thought against it.

“There you are. Now, eat everything I put in front of you both,” Amy ordered, setting the plates down. Charlie smiled and nodded her thanks while the Doctor just picked up his fork and played with his meal. The teen ate silently and Amy shook her head slightly, eating her own supper.

Finally, Charlie got sick of the Doctor’s moping. “You have to eat Doctor, even if it’s just a bit,” she reasoned. When she received no response from the man, or any acknowledgement that he had even heard her, she put down her fork and crossed her arms.

“You have to eat Charlotte, you look terrible,” the Doctor said, looking up at last. Charlie shrugged, making no move to begin eating again. “This isn’t funny Charlie, you have to eat.”

“I’ll eat if you do; you look no better than I do,” Charlie countered. “Do us both a favour and stop playing with your food.”

For a moment the Doctor looked as if he was about to say something – probably witty – but then closed his mouth and picked up his fork, beginning to attack his food. Charlie waited until he had actually swallowed the mouthful before returning to her own plate. Amy winked and shot her a thumbs up.

The redhead picked up the dishes once they were finished and mouthed ‘Talk to him,’ before turning to wash them. The teen drummed her fingers against the table for a bit, unsure of how she was going to start. It was starting to bug her, how the Doctor wouldn’t look at her.

“I’m not mad,” she stated just as his head snapped up. “I mean, part of me is mad but I don’t know if it’s at you or not and I just don’t really understand all of this and it’s just so weird –” Charlie stopped her babbling and sighed.

“Look, it’s just difficult to wrap my head around,” she explained. “Part of me is mad at you for quite a few things but I just feel like I can’t talk to you about them right now.”

The Doctor nodded slightly as Amy rejoined them silently. “That’s understandable. Changing species can be . . . difficult to come to terms with. Just know that if there was any way I could help or make this all make sense, I would,” he said, as if begging for her to understand. She smiled slightly and squeezed his hand for a brief moment.

“I know old man,” she teased and the corner of his mouth turned upwards. It killed Charlie to say what she wanted to, but there was no way she could avoid it. She was sure that it was what she needed right now.

“So, are we all good now?” Amy asked with a grin, crossing her arms and leaning back. “It was starting to get depressing, watching the two of you mope for a week.”

“That’s not all,” Charlie sighed, playing with her sleeve. “Look, I’m not mad at either of you and I thought about this for a long time. It won’t be permanent of course.” She tried to make them see it from her point of view so that they wouldn’t feel hurt or offended. “I want to go back home to London. Have some time to come to terms with the – uh – change.”

Silence blanketed the table. Thankfully, no one looked hurt at the request.

“If you need to go back to help you, then I won’t stop you,” the Doctor finally said with a smile. “Anything that’ll help we’ll provide.”

“And it isn’t forever,” Amy added. “You can call whenever you want to come back.”

“Thank you guys,” she grinned, giving them both a hug. “I was worried that you would feel bad if I asked,” Charlie admitted to the two, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Don’t worry so much about us kiddo,” Amy smiled, ruffling the girl’s blonde curls. “We’ll always understand.” She kissed the teen’s forehead gently. “I’ll make us all some tea and then we can help you pack. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good to me,” Charlie replied and the woman got up to make them all a cup. She glanced over to the Doctor, observing his expression for a moment. He chuckled.

“What is it Charlie?”

“Just making sure I didn’t hurt you,” the teen explained, casting her gaze to her hands. “I just feel like it would help, being with Isabelle and spending some time in London. Prepare me or something, I don’t know,” she sighed, shrugging. “It doesn’t make too much sense to me.”

The Timelord smiled and shook his head slightly. “You’re right Charlie. If this will help then who am I to stop you? Just make sure that you’re careful, alright?”

“Yes mother,” she smirked.

“Oi!”

“Knock it off you two!”

“Alright Amy.”

“Fine Pond.”

**. . .**

Charlie looked over the contents of her backpack once more. She had packed some clothes – bigger on the inside technology was truly remarkable – her wallet, some books, and her cell phone was tucked away safely in her pocket. She would be staying with Isabelle anyways; Charlie had sent her friend a quick text letting her know that she would be dropping by for a while.

Glancing around at her room, a smile rose to her lips. She would miss her place in the TARDIS, but she really needed to just clear her mind. Hopefully her time with Isabelle would help her with that. This way, the Doctor could focus on Amy and make up for what had happened to Rory.

Thinking about Rory sent a pang through her heart – _hearts_ – and it didn’t seem to want to go away. She would give anything to have the man back with them. Things had just been so different without the nurse around. Charlie did miss talking to him as they cooked in the morning, or goofing off as they made dinner.

She could never talk about these things of course – there was too much of a chance that Amy would overhear. So she had to carry it around silently, wondering if he was saved somehow or out there somewhere, waiting for them to find him again.

Shaking her head slightly, Charlie shifted her thoughts away from the nurse and began looking though the pictures on her phone. She had whipped it out whenever she could on their travels, not wanting to miss a thing. She came across one of a picture of her arm, with some error code written on it and remembered the day in the theatre. Charlie still had to ask the Doctor about that.

Tucking her phone back into her pocket, Charlie slung the backpack over her shoulder and walked out to the console room where Amy and the Doctor were waiting. The redhead gave the girl a wave while the Doctor grinned his usual grin, coat slung over the railing, sonic poking out of the pocket.

“All set are we?” he asked, leaning against the console. She nodded, adjusting the slipping strap.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Charlie replied, walking down to join them. “It’ll be nice to see Isabelle again.”

“We’ll miss you kiddo,” Amy said, walking towards the duo. The Doctor began flying his ship, knowing that she would take them where they needed to go this time. Charlie smiled.

“I’ll miss you guys too, but it isn’t for forever.”

The TARDIS screeched as she landed, halting the conversation. No one moved after the sound had stopped, savouring the moments where there was still three occupants of the magnificent ship. Charlie was finally able to move, giving Amy a hug.

“I’ll see you soon,” the teen said, giving the woman a squeeze.

“I’m holding you to that,” Amy grinned as she let go, tucking some of Charlie’s hair behind her ear. It was the Doctor’s turn next. She wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

“Have fun and take care of Amy,” Charlie whispered in his ear. The Timelord chuckled lightly and gave her a squeeze.

“Of course,” he whispered before letting go, wiping at his eyes. “Now you take care of yourself young lady. Make sure that you’re always back before dark or at least have someone with you. Call anytime you want to talk and we’ll call back as soon as we can if we miss you. The call I mean. And no boys whatsoever!”

Charlie laughed and gave the Doctor another hug. “You’re babbling again.”

“Sorry,” he replied quickly. The teen let go and he ran a hand through his hair. This was proving to be harder than the Timelord thought it would be – and it was just temporary! She made her way to the doors, giving them a small wave.

“See you soon then,” Charlie said, giving them a small smile. Amy gave a wave in return, swiping at her eyes quickly after.

“I’ll walk you to the door,” the Doctor stated, walking past the teen and out the TARDIS doors.

The teen shared a look with Amy before following the man. The TARDIS had parked herself in the far end of the park across from Isabelle’s house. “This was my favourite place to be during summer,” she spoke up, glancing around at the trees. “I almost broke my leg falling out of a tree.”

The Doctor chuckled, peering at the girl. “That sounds believable.”

“Hey! I take offense to that,” she grinned, bumping into him playfully. “At least I’m more coordinated than you.”

“You little Dalek,” the Timelord countered, grinning slightly. Charlie raised her eyebrow slightly.

“What a Dalek?”

“I’ll tell you another time,” he replied, waving it off. Charlie stopped walking and yanked the Doctor’s sleeve back, causing him to stumble slightly. “What’s wrong?”

“Police,” Charlie replied, pulling him behind a tree. “There are two people walking down the sidewalk – I recognize them because they came to where I worked one day when we got robbed. There are a couple cars as well. Isabelle said something about me being kidnapped.”

“I’ll head back then and meet you here to pick you up,” the Doctor whispered, kissing her forehead before making his way back to the TARDIS while Charlie continued walking.

Everything was going well until one of the officers recognized her and noticed the Doctor running in the opposite direction. It was too late when Charlie realized that there were officers on the other side of the park as well, making their way towards him. They would reach him before he could get to the TARDIS.

“Doctor! Run!” she shouted as hard as she could. The Timelord heard her, but it was too late.

He tried to run but one of the officers had tackled him to the ground. At least they hadn’t gotten Amy. Charlie tried to sprint to help the man, but the other two officers she recognized had grabbed her arms and steered her to Isabelle’s house.

“It’s alright, you won’t have to see him ever again,” the female officer cooed, probably thinking that she was comforting the teen – her name was Anna if she had the right nametag on. The blonde fought them as hard as she could.

“I wasn’t kidnapped! He’s my friend!”

“You’re in shock, it’s understandable,” Anna continued as they crossed the road. “You can come and tell us everything at the police station tomorrow dear.”

“I am not in shock!” she growled. What were they going to do to him? Before she could make her escape, Isabelle’s mother Miranda was hugging her half to death. Charlie had a mini panic attack; what if she felt her double heartbeat?

“We were so worried about you! Isabelle, Charlotte’s here!”

“Don’t let her leave the house. She’s still in shock,” Anna told Miranda quietly. “If she’s feeling up to it tomorrow, it would be great to have her at the station.”

“I missed you so much,” Isabelle whispered as she wrapped Charlie in a hug. She hugged her back for a brief moment.

“How long have I been gone?” she questioned, glancing around to see if she could find any clues.

“Almost three months. It’s August now Charlie,” the raven replied, searching her friend’s face. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine –”

“Let her rest Isabelle, poor dear must be tired,” Miranda scolded. “I’ll get lunch ready for you both,” the woman said, ushering the two up the stairs. Charlie caught sight of the Doctor through the window being stuffed into a police car, hands cuffed behind his back.

“Why doesn’t he use his sonic?” Charlie muttered under her breath.

“What was that Charlie?” Isabelle questioned and she smiled slightly in return.

“Sorry, could I get cleaned up before lunch?” Charlie asked and Isabelle’s face was released from its worried expression.

“Of course! You know where the bathroom is.”

Charlie thanked her friend quickly and headed to the bathroom quickly. As soon as the door was shut behind her, she called the TARDIS’ phone. “Come on, pick up,” she muttered quietly.

“Hello?”

“Amy! Listen, the Doctor’s been arrested and no one will listen to me. They all think that he kidnapped me,” Charlie explained quickly. She heard the Scot groan.

“What’re we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Charlie sighed. “Meet me in the park that I was playing in when we first met tomorrow. Hopefully we can figure something out. I have to go now. Bye.”

The teen hung up and leaned against the door. How were they going to get him out of this one? Neither one of them knew how to fly the TARDIS – even if they thought of a way the old girl could help – and they couldn’t exactly break him out. No one was listening to Charlie either. She sighed and got ready quickly, walking out and depositing her things in the spare room.

“Lunch’s almost done,” Isabelle informed, leaning against the doorframe. Charlie smiled at the sight of her friend. “I missed you a lot mate.”

“I missed you too,” she admitted. “I promise I’ll tell you everything you want to know soon.”

“There’s no rush. Come on. Maybe we can get Mum to let us do a bit of shopping,” Isabelle suggested. Charlie walked with her down the stairs.

“Sounds good to me.”

The sooner she got the Doctor out of this mess, the sooner she could start telling the truth to her best friend. And stop the guilt that was eating away at her.


	14. Chapter 14

Charlie and Isabelle sat on the faded red couch in the basement. The curtains covered the tiny windows, the only light in the room given off by the television. Neither broke the silence that fell, feeling comfortable with pretending that they were actually watching the television. Charlotte was lost in thought and Isabelle kept glancing at her friend, wondering what was wrong.

The raven had had enough and grabbed the remote, pressing mute before facing Charlie. “Alright, what’s going on? You haven’t said much since dinner and you’ve got that glazed look on.”

Charlie sighed and shook her head. “Look, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you. Not yet, but I will soon, I promise,” she added when it looked like Isabelle was going to argue.

“Fine,” she agreed, “but you have to tell me. I don’t like seeing you like this.” Charlie immediately felt guilty and had to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. It would be easier to explain when the Doctor was with her, and easier for Isabelle to believe her.

“I know. You’re a good friend,” Charlie said, bumping their shoulders lightly. “I just need a bit of time to figure things out.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “You’ll tell me when you’re ready. Just remember that I’m here for you.”

The blonde smiled and leaned back into the couch. “Yeah, I know Izzy. Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Isabelle replied, reaching for the remote again. Charlie played with her sleeve for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Have you heard from my parents?” Charlie blurted out, regretting it almost immediately. Why should she care about them? They didn’t care enough to do what Isabelle and her family had done; they did have the wrong idea about the Doctor of course, but they cared enough to call the police and search for her.

Isabelle watched her friend’s mental conflict for a moment before grabbing Charlie’s hand and squeezing it, snapping her out of her thoughts. “It’s okay to ask,” she reassured. “They called a few times asking if you were here. I’m not sure what they’re up to now though.”

She nodded and remained focused on her hands, lost in thought. Charlie was glad that Isabelle didn’t elaborate or try to comfort her with empty words; she just stayed there with her. Charlie barely noticed the tears that began falling and she didn’t notice Isabelle get up to grab her some tissues.

“Here,” Isabelle said softly, handing her the Kleenex box while rubbing her back. Charlotte took a few and wiped at her eyes, letting out a watery chuckle.

“I’m sorry, I’m making a mess of everything,” Charlie babbled. “It’s silly to care about them, isn’t it?”

“No, you’re not and it’s not silly,” Isabelle replied firmly, hugging her friend. Charlie relaxed into the hug, not holding back her tears. “They’re your parents, you loved them and they did too, somewhere inside them.”

“Hard to believe that,” she scoffed, swiping at her eyes. This was stupid. The Doctor was in jail and she was worried about what her absent parents did when she just up and left. She was still mad at the Doctor mind you, but not mad enough to leave him in jail with false charges against him.

“You don’t have to worry about them, alright? This is your home too if you want it to be,” Isabelle offered, smiling warmly. Charlotte returned the smile weakly. It still amazed her, even after all these years, how kind Isabelle was. Looking at her parents, it wasn’t difficult to see where she got it from.

“Thanks,” she said simply, not sure what else to say. Her friend’s smile widened and Charlie knew that she understood what she really meant. Isabelle always seemed to.

“Charlotte, Isabelle, time for bed!”

“Coming Mum!” Isabelle called back, shutting off the TV. The pair of them walked up the two flights of stairs to their rooms.

“Wait here for a moment,” Isabelle said ducking into her room, leaving a confused Charlie in the hall. There was a muffled swear and a thud before she re-emerged, holding a blue book in her hands.

“How did you get this?!” Charlie exclaimed, grinning as she held the journal in her hands. Isabelle gave a slight shrug.

“I took the stuff from your locker after the police were done with it,” she explained before turning to go back into her room. “Night mate.”

“Goodnight Izzy. Thanks,” Charlie smiled before shutting the door. Flopping down onto the bed, she began flicking through the journal, hoping it would ease her mind. Tomorrow would be busy, trying to break the Doctor out of jail and all.

**. . .**

The TARDIS was upset, as was her only passenger. She had lost her Timelord and her charge at the same time, while Amy had lost her best friend and her sister. Currently, Amy was sitting in the kitchen, a cup of tea between her hands, hoping sleep would arrive soon.

“What a mess you got yourself into Raggedy Man,” Amy sighed, rubbing her forehead. How were they supposed to get him out of jail? The case against him was compelling enough.

Come to think of it, most of it was true. Sure, he may not have kidnapped Charlotte in the traditional sense, but he did whisk her away without letting her parents know. It was the best for her, from what Amy knew about her parents, but the police wouldn’t see it like that. Maybe if they told the truth–

No, if they told the truth then the lot of them would be taken to a psych ward. Who would believe them if they did?

Amy stared down the last dregs of her tea and shoved it away, walking into the console room. She checked the monitor to see if anyone was outside before she went to bed when she noticed a certain tweed jacket on the floor. Snatching it up, Amy began rifling through the pockets, hoping there was something that could help them.

“Thank you Doctor,” Amy grinned, pulling out the sonic. The odds still didn’t look too good, but now they stood a chance at breaking out the alien without getting a criminal record themselves.

**. . .**

Sunlight streamed through the closed curtains, bathing the room in a soft morning glow. Charlie sat up in her bed, gasping for breath, sweat dripping down her face. Her hearts drummed in her chest, not knowing where she was. It was only when she looked around the room did she realize she was at Isabelle’s house. Everything had just been a nightmare.

Leaning against the headboard, the recently-turned Timelady steadied her breathing and heartbeat, calming down and trying to recall what had frightened her so much. Her mind was drawing a blank. The nightmare slipped away quicker the more she tried to focus on it.

“Whatever it was, it’s over,” Charlie whispered to herself, running a hand through her blonde curls. With a final sigh the teen heaved herself off the bed and grabbed some clothes, heading off to the bathroom to shower.

When she emerged from the bathroom, the house was awake and full of different sounds. She could hear Miranda talking to her husband from the kitchen while Isabelle was probably looking through the cabinets for the coffee filters.

She had missed this. While living in the TARDIS was nice, it never really could beat how much it meant to wake up to people you had known your entire life. Charlie did love Amy and Rory and the Doctor, but she missed the family she had left behind.

Walking down the stairs, Charlie found that her prediction had been correct; Isabelle was trying to locate the coffee filters. Miranda was standing by the stove, watching over their breakfast while Isabelle’s father Jacob was reading the paper.

“Morning everyone,” Charlie spoke up, walking over to the fridge to get some juice.

“Morning dear. Bacon or sausage?” Miranda asked, just about done with breakfast. Charlie told her that either one would be perfectly fine. Pouring herself some juice, she went to go sit at the table, Isabelle joining her a few seconds later.

“It’s nice to see you again Charlotte,” Jacob said, folding the paper in half and putting it to the side. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing fine Mr. Taylor,” Charlie replied, sipping the orange juice. “Still a bit tired though.”

He chuckled. “Nothing a little breakfast won’t fix.”

“Maybe we could go shopping after,” Isabelle suggested as her mother put their plates in front of them, giving Charlie a heaping serving.

“Thank your Mrs. Taylor,” Charlie smiled. “Sounds like fun. I need some new clothes anyways.”

“We both have to work Isabelle,” Miranda reminded, taking her place at the table. “No one can take you and I don’t want the two of you wandering around by yourselves.” Despite not outright saying it, Charlie knew what the older woman was getting at. She didn’t want the girls going anywhere while the Doctor was still around.

“We’d have our phones,” Isabelle pressed. “Besides, it would be good for Charlie to get some fresh air.”

Jacob put a hand on Miranda’s before she could counter their daughter’s argument. “Charlie, would you like to go shopping?” he asked.

“It would be nice to walk around London,” Charlie admitted.

“You two can go,” Mr. Taylor started, “but your phones have to be on the whole time and you have to be back before one. Everyone agree?”

“Of course. Thanks Dad,” Isabelle grinned, kissing his cheek.

“No later than one,” Miranda reminded, but gave her consent. Charlie checked her cellphone for the bus schedule.

“There’s a bus leaving in thirty minutes if you want to catch it,” she said, finishing her plate. Despite Miranda’s protests, Charlie washed her dishes and put them away.

“Sounds like a plan,” Isabelle replied, finishing her juice.

**. . .**

It was early in the morning when the Doctor was jolted out of sleep by a smack to his side. Assuming it was Amy, he covered his head with one arm and used the other to wave her away. Another, harder smack told him this wasn’t the Scot. Cracking open an eye, a frowning officer greeted his gaze.

“Get up.”

“Morning to you too,” he mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. A yawn escaped his lips as he stretched.

“You’re being taken in for questioning,” the officer said curtly. The Doctor sprung to his feet, suddenly wide awake.

“Questioning, wonderful! We can get this matter sorted out then, yeah?”

The officer said nothing, only motioning for the Doctor to follow him. Ignoring the hostile attitude, the Timelord followed after him to the interrogation room. Now someone had to listen to him! Well, he hoped they would.

**. . .**

Charlie went to go grab her wallet while Isabelle waited in the hall. The two set off for the bus stop, breaking into a sprint when they saw it was about to leave. Collapsing onto a seat the girls remained silent, trying to regain their breath.

“You’ve gotten faster,” Isabelle commented, still breathing heavily. Her friend chuckled and shrugged, leaning back to rest.

“I’ve gotten a lot of practice.”

Isabelle didn’t say anything, but instead settled on stealing a glance at her friend. What had happened in the few weeks? She wanted to ask, wanted to know what had gone on in the time she was missing, but Isabelle couldn’t bring herself to voicing those thoughts again. Charlie said that she would tell her and she trusted her friend.

“I have no idea where to shop,” Charlie spoke up, filling the silence. Isabelle smirked slightly.

“I know just the place. We’ll get you a proper outfit,” she grinned, already making plans. Charlie chuckled, shaking her head.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

She laughed even harder when Isabelle smacked her side. “Oi! I’m a wonderful friend.”

**. . .**

Meanwhile, down at the police station, the Doctor was trying to explain that he hadn’t done anything that they were pressing charges for. It seemed that no one wanted to listen to him though. Then again – with his bowtie, haircut, and suspenders – who would take him seriously?

“Name?” Anna asked, pen poised over the forms on her clipboard. She was the fourth officer to question the man today – the others had wanted to punch him. It seemed that he was good at getting on their nerves, so they sent the newbie in.

“The Doctor,” he replied, sitting up slightly in his chair. His handcuffs bit into his skin and he tried to change the position of his hands to lessen the pain. “It’s a bit chilly, don’t you think?” the Timelord asked, blowing into his hands and trying to rub them together in an attempt to make the officer laugh. Anna cracked a smile, but he still wished that he had his coat.

“I suppose it is,” she replied, scribbling something down. “But seriously, what’s your name?”

“My name is the Doctor, I just told you.”

This was going to be a long day. Anna bit her lip slightly before deciding to just put it down on the papers. “Birthday?”

He leaned back slightly, eyebrows scrunched together in thought. “I can’t remember, it’s been a long time since I’ve celebrated birthdays,” the Doctor rambled. “It’s always hard to tell what date it is when you keep jumping around like me.”

The brunette raised her eyebrow before shaking her head and scribbling something else down. Anna really had no idea how she was going to explain this to her superiors. “Alright then Doctor, when did you first come into contact with Miss Jackson?”

“Sixteenth of June, 10:54 pm,” he recited, the exact date and time burned into his brain. “She was going to jump off a bridge – I thought that she must’ve been in her twenties, sick of bills and such – and I stopped her.” Those few minutes were still so fresh in his mind, the knowledge that if he had just flown away, the world would have lost a confused girl heavy in his hearts.

Anna paused for a moment – if he had done that, would he have really kidnapped her? – before writing down his reply. Of course he had kidnapped her; no girl Charlotte’s age with her record would ever willingly leave with a stranger. This man was a terrible person hiding in the guise of a lovable goof.

“It seems like you cared a lot. Why would you kidnap her? Why would you take her away from her family and friends? The people that loved her the most?”

“I didn’t kidnap her, I swear!” the Doctor yelled, attempting to flail his arms about – which was a lot more difficult now that he was wearing handcuffs. “Question Charlie, she’ll tell you the same thing.”

“You are a terrible person,” Anna sneered, the opinion that she was fed solidifying in her mind. This man had kidnapped a poor teen, everyone was sure of it. He was – well, must’ve been – threatening the poor girl yesterday – and she had been in shock – so Charlotte didn’t know what she was saying. “After all she’s gone through. We’ll make sure that she never has to see you ever again.” 

He sighed and slouched in his chair. There really wasn’t any point if talking to these people, but they kept asking him things and he had no choice but to reply. “I didn’t do anything to her,” he said. “I didn’t kidnap her and I didn’t hurt her in any way.” The Timelord was starting to get bored.

“She has scars on her arms, back, and legs, and there are a few bruises. I wonder where those came from,” Anna mocked, crossing her arms. “Don’t try and play games here, we know what you did. People like you disgust me.”

“I did not hurt her!” he snapped, balling his hands into fists on his lap. This nonsense had gone too far. He gathered some of his composure before continuing.

“Never would I ever hurt Charlotte Jackson, nor would I ever let anyone hurt her ever again. If you officers had been doing your jobs, you would have known that those were from her parents. Don’t you ever dare to suggest that I would ever harm her,” the Doctor deadpanned, his emotions ready to explode under the surface of his words.

Anna stepped back and for a moment, she was afraid. Afraid of the man with eyes that burned with anger, those eyes that resembled a soldier’s gaze with fierce protectiveness. The thing that frightened her the most though was the glint of madness within his green orbs. It was tempting to let the man go, just to get that gaze away from her.

She cleared her throat. “You can go back to your cell. We’ll talk later,” Anna dismissed with a wave of her hand. Two other officers escorted the Doctor back to his cell while she took a moment to regain her composure. Did she really believe what everyone else was feeding her? She was the rookie, the new person, but maybe her mentors weren’t right; maybe the Doctor, whoever he really was, didn’t kidnap the girl after all.

**. . .**

It was thirty minutes later when the Doctor was bothered in his cell once more. Sitting up on his bed, he didn’t bother looking at the officer. Instead he just played with his sleeves, bored with staying in one place and time for so long.

“What is it this time?” he asked, standing up.

“You have a visitor Doctor,” Anna replied, keeping her distance from the bars. A hand was kept near her baton. The Doctor noticed and sighed.

“I’m not going to hurt you Anna,” he said kindly, though a bit exasperated. “You won’t be needing that.” There was a tense silence as Anna decided if she wanted to trust the alien or not. After a few moments she let her arm relax.

“There’s a man that says he knows you. Should I bring him?” she asked once more. The Doctor nodded and waved his hand.

“Of course, let him come in.”

Anna waved to someone out of his line of sight. The Doctor heard a single set of footsteps, meaning his visitor was unaccompanied. If it was Jack, wouldn’t he have Amy with him? Or Charlie at the very least, with that Isherwood man still wandering around from all that time ago.

Speak of the devil.

“Hello Doctor,” the man said, smirking. Standing there in his three-piece suit and cane was the last man he wanted to see in London.

The Timelord walked up to the bars, a thousand questions running through his mind. If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed that Anna seemed dazed as she walked away and that no other officers were around.

“What brings you to London Alistair?” he asked, voice steady. The other man’s lips quirked.

“You know very well what brings me here. And you’re going to help me.”

**. . .**

The girls sat on a bench in the shopping center amidst a sea of bags. Well, it was only three or four large bags with smaller ones inside. Charlie glanced at them and laughed.

“I think we may have a shopping problem,” she said, giving a pointed look to her friend.

“Hey, only half of them are mine,” Isabelle defended, pulling a hat out from the depths of one of the bags and stuffing it on Charlie’s head, who gave a muffled shout of surprise.

“Isabelle!” the blonde whined, taking off the hat and putting it on her friend.

“That’s my name,” she replied with a slight smirk. Charlie rolled her eyes and leaned back, checking her phone. There was still plenty of time before they had to catch the bus. It was the ideal time to go meet Amy in the park.

“Hey, want to go for a walk?” Charlie asked, turning to her friend. Isabelle shrugged, putting the hat back into one of the bags.

“Sure. Should we drop the bags off first?” she asked, getting up. Charlie was already picking up half of the bags and making her way to the bus stop. Isabelle jogged to catch up and repeated her question.

“I guess we should,” Charlie agreed. If they were going to break the Doctor out right away it would be in her best interest to not be lugging around a bunch of shopping bags. They were almost at the bus stop when Charlie heard someone calling her name in a Scottish drawl.

“Charlie, wait!”

The teen stopped in her tracks and turned around, much to the confusion of Isabelle. Amy caught up to them, taking a moment to catch her breath. Another sharply-dressed woman with short blonde hair was accompanying her.

“Who’s this Amy?” Charlie asked, nodding in the stranger’s direction.

“My name’s Kate Stewart. Miss Jackson, you have to come with us,” the woman answered. Isabelle shook her head, stepping forward.

“Wait a sec, what the bloody hell is going on?” Isabelle asked, looking to her friend for an explanation. Charlie shrugged and looked expectantly at Amy.

“The Doctor’s in trouble,” Amy replied quickly.

Kate elaborated before either teen could ask another question. “A man called Alistair Isherwood took the Doctor from the police station. We came here to protect you and are tracking him down as we speak. You must come with us.”

“You can’t go anywhere with these strangers Charlie,” Isabelle said, worried for her friend. What was going on? Charlie smiled and squeezed her friend’s hand.

“Isabelle, this is my friend Amy. She was with me and the Doctor. They’re very good people.”

Before anymore could be said, a black car pulled up beside them. The window rolled down and giving them an award-winning smile was none other than Jack.

“Hey there Charlie,” Jack grinned. “Timelady now, eh? Everyone get in quick.”

Kate stepped into the vehicle, followed by Amy and Charlie, who dragged Isabelle inside with her. Kate was about to protest when she raised a hand to silence her.

“It’s about time I come clean with you,” Charlie sighed, turning to face her friend as Jack began driving like a madman. She took a deep breath before starting.

“I ran away with the Doctor in the TARDIS. It’s a spaceship that can travel through time and is bigger on the inside. Amy was there with us. Oh the places he took us! I know you were worried and I should have explained better, and for that I’m sorry. He’s the best thing that’s happened to me Izzy. He _saved_ me from jumping off a bridge. He didn’t kidnap me.”

“You were going to jump off a _bridge?_ ” Isabelle whispered. She wasn’t disgusted with Charlie, but with herself. How could she not see how bad it was getting? Charlie simply waved it off.

“There’s another thing. The Doctor’s an alien with two hearts called a Timelord.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

Charlie looked over to Kate, hoping she had something to show so she didn’t have to say it. The woman handed her a file and Charlie passed it on to Isabelle. It was a set of the scans from the TARDIS. Isabelle fell silent, shock visible on her face.

“That’s what I came here for,” Charlie explained, but was cut off when Isabelle hugged her. They stayed there for a moment before Jack cleared his throat.

“I found him,” he said, waiting for some kind of order.

“Let’s go rescue the Doctor then,” Charlie replied. Jack saluted her and stepped on the gas.


	15. Chapter 15

Charlie had just finished telling Isabelle about some of their more interesting travels with the Doctor and how she had met Jack and Amy. She could tell that her friend would need some more time to take in all the information she had been given and Charlie hoped she could clear up any questions she had after they saved the Doctor.

“So, what’s the plan?” Amy asked, looking over to Kate.

“We get the Doctor out as quickly as possible without being detected,” Kate replied. “Anyone got any other ideas?”

“I’ve got this,” the redhead said, pulling out the sonic from her coat pocket. Kate smiled slightly.

“That should be very useful,” Kate commented before turning her attention to the teenagers. “The two of you will stay in here while we go –“

“You don’t seriously expect me to stay put while the rest of you go help the Doctor, do you?” Charlie cut across the woman, raising her eyebrow. “I want to help and I will.”

Kate shook her head, exhaling heavily. “No, you won’t Charlotte,” she replied firmly before softening her tone. “These people are using him to get to you for some reason. Even if they weren’t, you’re a Timelady. You’re practically a walking fortune, dead or alive. We have to keep you safe.”

“You probably shouldn’t have said that,” Isabelle interjected with a small smirk. She knew how Charlie could get and people – especially adults – patronizing her was one of the things that pissed her off the quickest.

“You’ve failed there. I’m one of his companions,” Charlie replied coolly. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but you’re wasting your breath. The Doctor is my friend and I’m not going to sit by and do nothing while he’s in trouble.”

Jack noticed that Kate was about to say something and cleared his throat. “We’ll be there in ten minutes,” he announced from the front seat, somehow finding a way to drive even faster. “Just let her go Kate, she’s proven herself capable if she’d travelled with the man.”

Kate’s lips thinned but she let it drop. Jack caught Charlie’s eye in the mirror and winked. She was just as stubborn as her mother.

**. . .**

The Doctor was chained to his seat, unable to wiggle his limbs at all. Alistair sat in a plush armchair across from him, a glass of red wine in one hand and something that resembled a tablet in the other. A silence grew between them, the Doctor trying to find a way out while Isherwood silently mocked him.

“You might as well give up Doctor. There’s no way you’ll be leaving quite yet,” Alistair spoke up, swirling the contents of the glass.

“Why are you so keen on capturing Charlie?” the Doctor questioned, attempting to buy himself some more time to form a plan. Or at least find a way he could warn whoever could be searching for him. Alistair laughed and lowered his glass, setting it on the table beside him.

“She’s a key piece in a plan Doctor, even you should be able to figure that out,” he scoffed, waving his hand. “Maybe if you spent more time scanning her DNA instead of looking at her hearts –”

“What about her DNA?” the Doctor interjected. There couldn’t be anything mutated within it, the TARDIS would have let him know if that was the case. No, Alistair was baiting him into something, the Doctor was sure of it.

Isherwood shook his head and sighed. “Have you really gotten so daft Doctor?” he said, seemingly disappointed. “Think about it; her biology has been locked away by someone. Who can say that all of it has been unlocked by now?”

The Timelord fell silent, lost in his thoughts. He didn’t understand what Isherwood meant; Charlie’s DNA was in triple-helix formation, her respiratory system had changed to one of a Timelady, and she had two hearts and livers. What was she missing that he didn’t catch?

“Here’s a hint; if someone were to shoot her at this minute, she would be dead.”

**. . .**

Isabelle stayed in the car while the others got out and scouted for entrances to the building. Amy kept one hand on the sonic, mostly to make sure it didn’t fall out of her pocket, and checked her side of the building before meeting the others.

“Nothing over there,” she said, gesturing to the area. “What about you three?”

“Nothing on my side. Kate?” Jack replied, shaking his head. He kept a hand near his belt, ready to reach for his gun hidden behind his coat. Kate shook her head ‘no’, constantly glancing around them to see if anyone was nearby or hiding.

“He’s not here,” Charlie muttered, sitting on the steps of the building. Amy glanced over, eyebrows scrunched together.

“What do you mean he’s not here?” she asked, sitting down beside the teen. The blonde shrugged and motioned behind her.

“I don’t know how to explain it. I – I just _know_ when the Doctor’s around,” Charlie answered, biting her lip in thought. “I don’t know how or why. I think it’s a Timelord thing – I read a little bit about it before.”

Kate sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose while Jack kicked at the ground. ”Well, we should keep moving, see if we can track him down,” Jack said, motioning for everyone to get into the car. “Maybe we can find a way to get that telepathic link of yours to help.”

Charlie gave a dry chuckle as she got up, dusting off her jeans. “I don’t think so Jack. It’s still pretty weak. There’s no way I’d be able to sense him across London,” she commented as she stepped into the car, Amy and Kate clamoring in behind her.

“Guess not. Just let us know if something happens, yeah?” Jack said, climbing into the front seat. Charlie nodded as the engine roared and they began driving once more. To where, none of them were certain.

“What’s up with this Alistair guy anyways?” Amy asked, turning away from the window. Jack just made a noise and Charlie kept her eyes glued to the world flashing by outside. Kate shrugged her shoulders, a hint of frustration visible on her face.

“We have no idea what he’s planning,” she replied.  “We only know who he’s after, and even then we don’t know why.”

Isabelle looked over to Charlie as the two women talked. She couldn’t see her friend’s face, but she could tell from her tense shoulders that she was worried for the Doctor. Isabelle didn’t completely understand what had happened to Charlie while she was gone, but she did know that her friend had gotten attached.

“Hey,” she whispered, bumping Charlie lightly. “Why don’t you tell me something about the Doctor?” Isabelle hoped that letting her talk would stop Charlie from worrying so intensely.

The blonde smiled slightly and turned away from the window. “Well, he’s kind and an overgrown toddler,” she started, laughing slightly. “He’s so amazed by such little things, it’s really nice to see. There’s something there though. . .” Charlie drifted off for a moment, losing herself in her thoughts.

She shook her head and regained her trail of thought. “I think you’d like him. He travels in a TARDIS with a broken chameleon circuit, so it looks like a police box. She’s wonderful. You’d never have enough time to see everything in the old girl. . .”

The occupants of the vehicle slowly fell silent, content to listen to the teen ramble on. Occasionally the others would speak up, pitching in their own stories about the Doctor. Isabelle smiled slightly, listening to them all talk about this wonderful man. She only hoped that her friend would be safe with him.

**. . .**

“The girl will be here with her friends at any moment,” a cloaked figure who had entered the room told Alistair in a smooth female voice. The man simply waved his hand in disinterest.

“We still have some time to chat before they pick him up,” Isherwood replied, turning his attention to the Timelord in front of him. “Now Doctor, you’re going to do something for me. You’re going to unlock Miss Jackson’s DNA with your lovely TARDIS.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, finally giving up in trying to break out. “And why would I do anything you asked?” he shot back coolly. Of course he was curious and wanted to look into the teen’s DNA, but he would never risk putting her in danger. Especially when Isherwood was involved.

Alistair’s smirk changed for a fleeting moment into a snarl before rearranging itself once more. “You will, otherwise we’ll give you no choice.”

“Why don’t you just do it yourself?” he pressed.

“Because,” Alistair replied, annoyed. “I do not possess the technology anymore. Lucky for me that you do.”

“Don’t be too sure,” the Doctor shot back, smirking slightly. “Something you should know about me; I hate people telling me what to do.” Isherwood leaned forward, the ghost of a smile on his face.

“I’m not telling. I’m ordering you Doctor.”

“Rubbish at those too,” he said, waving his hands as much as he could. “You said you don’t possess the technology anymore, which means that you possessed it at some point, leading to my question. What and where did you find something as powerful as my TARDIS?”

There was a pause and for a moment, the Doctor believed that he had actually beaten the man. To his horror, he saw something reflected in Alistair’s eyes that he knew had appeared in his own many times; immeasurable grief and guilt.

“Back home Doctor,” Alistair replied simply, closing his eyes for a moment. “Back where the sky was orange and the leaves silver.”

“Who are you?” the Doctor whispered, apprehension seeping into his voice. He shrunk back into his chair as Alistair opened his eyes, expression blank.

“You don’t need to know that. You don’t deserve to know. Not after what you did to our people.”

**. . .**

“Hit the brakes now!” Charlie screamed, clutching her head tightly. Jack turned sharply, parking them to the right before turning around in his seat to look at the teen. Isabelle was rubbing her circles on her back, concern scrunching her features.

“What’s wrong with her?” she demanded, looking to the adults for an answer. She received nothing but blank looks in return. Charlie screamed again, clamping her hands against her ears.

“Make it stop, please!” Charlie shouted, looking to the others for help. Amy grabbed her hand and held it tightly, not pulling away when the teen squeezed it. Realization dawned on Jack’s face.

“She has to be sensing the Doctor. Charlie, could you give us directions?”

“She’s in pain you idiot!” Amy snapped, making Jack recoil slightly. “Give her a minute, will you? Charlie, do you want some aspirin or something?”

“Aspirin will kill her instantly,” Kate said, glancing over to the teen. “Besides, I don’t think it would do much good in this case.”

“Everyone shut up!” Charlie snapped before groaning. After a few minutes, she managed to sit upright. “Sorry. Jack, I think I can lead you. Take a left at the next turn.”

“Alright captain,” Jack replied with a salute, revving the engine back to life and listening to the teen’s instructions.

As they got closer to the area the Doctor was being held, the more Charlie’s head felt like exploding. She bit her lip, trying to distract herself from the pain.  There was something off though; it didn’t feel like the Doctor normally did.

“A right from here, then go straight. It should be on the left,” Charlie mumbled. Isabelle repeated her instructions when Jack didn’t hear them, saving Charlie the trouble. There was someone else there, possibly interfering. But why would she be picking them up?

Jack pulled up to the building and cut the engine. “Charlie, I think you should stay here. You’re not well enough to be –“

“I want to help,” Charlie stated, giving herself a moment before moving away from the seat slowly. Jack sighed and looked to the women for help. Kate simply shook her head and got out of the car. Amy put a hand on the teen’s shoulder, pushing her back gently.

“Maybe you should stay here and rest,” she said softly, looking the teen in the eyes. “You’ve already helped the Doctor so much; let us finish the rest.”

Charlie looked unhappy, but nodded slightly, almost thankful to be left to sink into the seats. She closed her eyes, trying to ease the pounding. The Scot looked over to Isabelle and mouthed ‘take care of her’ before getting out herself.

**. . .**

The cloaked figure returned to the room, bowing before entering. “They’re making their way up sir,” she said, interrupting the men. “They’ve already taken out the first four floors.”

Alistair nodded slightly, waving his hand. “Tell the others to prepare to leave. I’ll be joining them in a minute.” The figure bowed once more before exiting, leaving the Doctor and Alistair alone once more. “So sorry to leave like this, but I do have other appointments,” Alistair said, getting up.

“You can’t exist,” the Doctor said, slightly dazed. “It’s not possible! I destroyed them all!”

“Yet here I am,” Alistair replied, shaking his head. “You carry the destruction of our home, our culture, and many of our people on your shoulders, but you haven’t killed us all. Some of us got lucky.”

The Doctor looked up to meet the man’s gaze, a glimmer of hope within his green orbs. “There are more of you?” He straightened in his seat. Alistair nodded, beginning to walk away.

“A few of us, yes. And we all hate you.”

The Doctor listened as the footsteps got farther and farther away, meditating on the information he had been given. He wasn’t alone anymore. Sure, Charlie seemed to be a Timelady, but that was different. He didn’t know how or why, and she had never seen Gallifrey before. These Timelords would have grown up there, immersed in their culture and environment. . .

They had to be killed. If they were anything like the Timelords during the Time War, they would have to be killed as soon as possible. The Doctor lowered his head slightly, a slight ache in his hearts. It was just like the Master all over again. No, the Master had been his friend at one point. He didn’t know who these ones were.

And they wanted Charlie. He still didn’t know what for, but did it matter? They wanted to harm her, which was all he needed to know. Their deaths would be justified, unlike the children he had slaughtered. If the innocent had to die, then Alistair and whoever stood behind him had to as well.

He was jarred from his thoughts when he heard someone slamming into the door. The alien craned his neck to try and see who it was, but it was difficult considering that his back was to it. After two more attempts, some more footsteps, and shouting in a Scottish drawl, the door swung open.

Amy ran over, sonic in her hand to free the Doctor while Kate and Jack scanned the area. The Doctor rubbed his wrists when he was freed and kissed the top of Amy’s head before pocketing his screwdriver.

“Kate, Jack, great to see you two. No use in looking, they already left,” the Doctor added, jumping to his feet. Kate walked over to join the two while Jack continued his search. “Wonderful rescue mission, I’m impressed. How did you find me?”

“Charlotte did,” Kate said, noticing the look on his face. “She said that she could sense when you were nearby and thought it was a Timelord thing. The closer we got to the building, the worse her headache got.”

“Telepathic link, all Timelords are connected to each other,” the Doctor explained, waving his hands. “Headaches, you said something about headaches. That’s not normal – well, nothing really is –“

“Doctor, rambling,” Amy cut across, stopping her friend before he strayed too far from the topic.

He clapped his hands together. “Right, sorry. Do go on Kate.”

“She was getting these head splitting migraines when we got nearby,” she explained. “We had to leave her in the car – wasn’t too happy about that she was.”

“We should head back, I can’t find anything,” Jack announced, tucking his gun away and joining the others. “Charlie will be happy to see you’re alright Doctor.”

“I should hope so,” he replied with a chuckle, letting the others lead the way back. When they arrived to the vehicle, Charlie was fast asleep, Isabelle making her a make-shift pillow with one of the shopping bags.

“She fell asleep a little after you left. No fever or anything, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” Isabelle explained as the adults began filing in. Once she caught sight of the bowtie, she smiled slightly. “You must be the Doctor.”

“That’s me,” the alien replied with a grin before waving. “Hello there Isabelle Taylor.”

“You know my name?” the teen asked as Jack began driving, surprise written on her features.

“Of course! Charlie does talk about you a lot after all,” the Doctor replied, smiling. Isabelle returned the smile after a moment. “So, has she filled you in about our, ah, situation?” he asked hesitantly, no really wanting to be the one to fill her in this time.

“Bits and pieces,” Isabelle answered. “Still trying to wrap my head around it, but she promised to explain it more clearly later.”

The Doctor nodded slightly and smiled softly at the sleeping girl when she attempted to readjust her ‘pillow.’ His mind was still racing with a million different things, but the puzzles could wait a few hours. He needed to make sure that Charlie was safe here first and the best was to do that was to make sure she didn’t suspect that anything was off. The less she knew, the better.

He felt as if Isabelle was judging him silently, trying to tell if her friend was in danger while around him. By now he was used to it of course – the Doctor did hope she wasn’t like Jackie when he brought Rose home though. It was good that she had someone to do that for her since her parents were, well, them. The Doctor made a mental note to pay them a visit one day. . .

**. . .**

Charlie was sitting underneath the console in the Doctor’s swing, taking the moment to be alone. She had just finished showing Isabelle her room when Amy offered to give her a tour of the TARDIS. The blonde didn’t mind though; she really wanted the two of them to get along. She had a feeling they would.

There had been remains of her headaches when Jack and Kate had dropped them off near the TARDIS, but they were just a memory now. She would have to ask the Doctor if that was normal later on. Speaking of the Doctor, she could hear footsteps above her.

“Thought I’d find you here,” the Doctor chuckled, coming down to join her. He pulled up another swing to sit beside her. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’ve had better days,” Charlie admitted before smiling. “But I’m fine now. Is that normal, the headaches?”

The Doctor paused for a moment. “It’s just because you’re new at it. Don’t worry, it’s not a regular thing.” He felt guilty when the teen accepted the lie, but he knew it was for her own good. “Thank you for helping find me.”

“You’re my friend, of course I’d help,” she replied with a slight smile. “Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you old man.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I know, it’s just – are you sure you want to go? I know it’s not forever, but still.” The Doctor refused to look over, swinging slightly while wringing his hands together. Charlie sighed.

“Doctor, I have to do this. You lied to me, kept this whole Timelady thing from me. You even saw my notebook, that I wrote Circular Gallifreyan and about the Time War. I can’t help but feel that I’m just a puzzle to you that’s going to be tossed away when you get bored.”

The Timelord snapped his eyes up to meet her gaze. “Charlie, I would never –“

“I know,” she replied with a tiny smile. “I just need some time to believe it. I’m angry at you Doctor. I’m angry and confused and upset and overwhelmed. I need this time back home to come to terms with everything before I can come back to travel and learn about who I am.”

The Doctor nodded and kissed the top of her head. “Take all the time you need,” he smiled, ruffling her hair. “You can call us anytime and we’ll be here for you. _I’ll_ be here for you if you have any questions and aren’t quite ready to come back.”

“Thank you,” Charlie said softly, giving the Doctor a hug. He smiled before returning it, beating back the guilt. This was for her own good, he knew that. He just didn’t want it to happen.

**. . .**

Charlie waved a last time before the TARDIS doors shut and that noise filled the air before the ship was gone. The Doctor – along with Amy, Jack, and Kate – had explained what really went on during Charlie’s absence to Isabelle’s parents so they wouldn’t worry the next time she left.

“So that’s the Doctor and his time machine,” Isabelle spoke up.

“Yeah, that was them,” Charlie replied, glancing over to her friend. “What do you think?”

“He’s good enough,” she replied. Charlie laughed before the two began walking back to the house. This is where she had to be now. This was right.


	16. Chapter 16

“That was amazing!” Amy threw her arms wide, strolling into the TARDIS. “I mean really, Arcadia was great. And the Trojan Gardens!” The Doctor chuckled, already standing at the console. The Scot walked over and sat down on the seats.

“I know, right?!” the Doctor grinned, rubbing his hands together. “Arcadia’s always a great stop.” He paused for a moment, as if reconsidering that thought. “Well, most of the time. I went during my seventh reincarnation, a lot different then.”

“Doctor,” Amy started, glancing over at the console.

“It was just this secluded little place. No technology or anything. It was actually an experiment,” the alien continued to ramble, walking around the console, flicking switches as he did.

“Doctor –“

“Imagine a world with no technology. How would you make toast? Or dry your hair in time for a meeting? My sonic was pretty much useless –“

“Doctor!” Amy shouted, finally getting the man’s attention. The Doctor closed his mouth, a wounded expression on his face. He resembled a toddler that just got told to go to his room.

“What?”

She sighed and stood up, motioned to the phone as she walked over. “You’ve got a message,” Amy said before pausing for a moment, features scrunched in thought. “People can leave you messages?”

“Of course they can,” the Doctor replied, returning to his usual boisterous self. “Let’s have a listen them, shall we?” He leaned over and pressed a button. Static filled the TARDIS for a moment before Charlie’s voice replaced it.

“Hey guys, looks like I’ve missed you. Just calling in to say hi. It’s been about a month in my end. Not quite sure how long it’s been for you lot. Timelines and stuff. Anyways, call me when you have the time. Bye.”

A beep ended the message and the two looked at the phone for a moment. Everything seemed to be still for a moment before each reached for the phone. Amy beat the Doctor to it, swatting his hand away before dialing the teen’s number.  

“Hello?”

“Charlie! We just got your message,” Amy answered, leaning against the console. She swatted away the Doctor’s hand easily, making him pout. “How are you?”

The Doctor had enough when Amy laughed at something the teen said. “I want to talk to her too!” he whined, before remembering he had speaker phone. Snatching the phone from Amy, he pressed a button and Charlie’s voice flooded through the room.

“You’re on speaker now. The Doctor’s being a big baby,” Amy announced, earning a laugh from the other end. The Doctor scowled slightly and tried to flick her nose, but she moved away in time.

“How are you Doctor?” Charlie asked. The Doctor waved his hand dismissively before remembering she couldn’t see him.

“I’m like I always am,” the Doctor answered vaguely. “How’s London treating you?”

“It’s been nice. I’ve started school again, which is a pain.” There was a sigh before she continued. “Other than that, it’s been relaxing. Isabelle and I have been planning to go see ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower’ next month.” Charlie paused for a moment. The two could imagine her shaking her head.

“Enough about me. How are you guys?”

“We’re doing fine,” Amy replied, sitting down. “We just went to Arcadia and these beautiful Trojan gardens. You have to see them when you come back.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” she replied. They could hear some whispering before Charlie spoke up again. “I’m going to have to go, we’re going out for dinner today. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye!” Amy said cheerfully, her smile faltering for a second.

“Goodbye Charlie,” the Doctor smiled, speaking softly.

“Bye guys. I miss you.” There was a click and the line went dead. The Doctor put the phone back into its place.

“I miss her,” Amy sighed, crossing her legs on the seat. The Doctor sighed and leaned against the console.

“I know. I do too, but she wants this. We have to respect her decision.” He turned away so that Amy couldn’t see his face. “Why don’t you go freshen up? We can go somewhere else if you like.”

Amy walked to him and squeezed his shoulder. “That sound great,” she said softly, giving his shoulder another squeeze before walking away. She knew that he just wanted some time to herself – she wasn’t stupid. She just wished he would talk about it instead of bottling it up.

The Doctor pretended to look busy until Amy left. His conversation with Charlie was still on his mind. What if she was right? He didn’t want to believe it, but wasn’t part of the reason he was drawn to her the puzzle she presented him?

“No,” he whispered to himself, rubbing a hand over his face before straightening. Pushing those thoughts away, he composed himself, hearing Amy’s footsteps approaching. Putting a grin on his face, he spun around to face her.

“So, where to Pond?”

“I’m in the mood to visit the Van Gogh museum.”

The Doctor bowed. “Your wish is my command,” he said before going around the console, flying his ship.

**. . .**

Charlie kept glancing towards the clock, trying to stop herself from falling asleep. Her maths teacher was giving another lecture, almost boring her to death. Looking around the class, she didn’t seem to be the only one. Thankfully, the bell rang a few minutes later and she practically flew out of the room and ran to her locker.

“Someone’s in a hurry to leave,” Isabelle said with a slight smirk, leaning against her locker. Charlie rolled her eyes and shoved her friend out of the way, doing her combination.

“I had maths,” she said, tossing her textbook in. Her friend gave her a sympathetic look.

“That sucks mate. They really should make Mr. David retire.”

“He’s forty-five!”

Isabelle just shrugged in reply. Charlie shook her head and stuffed her science textbook into her bag before slinging it on her shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get going,” she said, closing her locker and glancing around. She grabbed Isabelle’s arm and glanced back just in time to see Janice and her group walk down the hallway.

“When will you stop letting her get to you?” Isabelle asked once they got outside. The blonde shrugged slightly.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Of course it is,” Isabelle replied. “I’d love to just smack that stupid smug look off of her face. Everyone knows that her mother cheated and she just takes it out on you.””

“I’m the reason that everyone knows,” Charlie pointed out. Isabelle waved her hand dismissively.

“Details, details. My point still stands. You can’t just let her get away with it.”

“What other choice do I have?”

Isabelle sighed and shook her head. “Stand up to her.” Noticing her friend didn’t want to talk about it, she decided to not press it further. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Charlie replied, a little taken aback. “Why?”

She shrugged, putting her hands in her pocket. “Just asking. You did come here to find yourself and all.”

“Right,” Charlie replied, recalling the conversation she had with her two weeks ago. “Well, I’m still trying to get rid of all those feelings. I’d settle for coming to terms with them.”

“You’ll get there,” Isabelle encouraged, giving her a smile. “I’m sure you will. Just give it a little time.” Charlie smiled weakly before looking away, watching some cars drive by.

“I really hope you’re right Izzy,” she said before looking at her friend, shrugging. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get used to it.”

Isabelle laughed and Charlie looked at her, wondering if she had lost her mind. She shook her head and tried to speak but just doubled over in laughter. The blonde glanced at their surroundings, checking if anyone was nearby.

“Why are you laughing?” she asked through her teeth. Isabelle took a couple breaths, gaining control over her voice again.

“You’re trying to get used to being, you know,” Isabelle looked over her shoulder to check if anyone was around before lowering her voice for extra precaution, “being a Timelord by ignoring it. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Thanks a lot Isabelle,” Charlie said harshly before picking up her pace, trying to put as much distance as she could between her friend and herself. Isabelle sighed and ran to catch up.

“Come on Charlie, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Really? Cause it sounds like you think I’m stupid,” she replied picking up her pace once again. She was jolted out of her half-jog when Isabelle grabbed her arm and spun her around so she could look at her.

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Isabelle said solemnly. “Never would I ever truly think that. I’m just saying that you aren’t tackling this in the most logical way.”

Charlie tensed for a moment, not wanting to say anything before sighing. Her shoulders slumped forward. “Yeah, I know. It’s just that coming to terms the easy way would mean going back to the TARDIS. I just can’t do that now.”

“It’s been a month, Isabelle pointed out before slinging an arm around her shoulders. “But take all the time you need. We’re not going anywhere.”

She smiled at her friend and squirmed out of her grip. “Yeah, I know.” Not missing a beat, Charlie grabbed Isabelle’s phone and started running.

“Hey!” Isabelle raced after her and couldn’t help but laugh during the chase.

**. . .**

She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut to block out the Sun. Someone kept knocking on the front door – Charlie burrowed her face deeper into her pillow. There was a pause before the knocking started again. Throwing off her sheet she stumbled her way to the door, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Running a hand through her messy blonde curls, she fumbled with the lock before yanking it open.

“Took you a while there Charlie. I almost left.”

She rubbed her eyes once more to make sure she wasn’t daydreaming. Sure enough, there stood Jack in his suspenders and belt, a long coat with gold buttons draped over him. “What’re you doing here Jack? Do you need to talk to Miranda or Jake?”

Jack shook his head and leaned against the doorframe. “No, I already know that the Taylors are out for the day. Just thought I’d swing by, see if you’d like to spend the day with me,” he shrugged, tone light.

Charlie raised her eyebrow and shook her head. It was obvious what his true intentions were. “Just tell me if you’re here to babysit Jack,” she said, heading into the kitchen. Jack followed, closing the door behind him. “Did Kate put you up to this?”

“Kate doesn’t tell me to do anything,” he replied, tone hardening for a moment before lightening. “I just thought you’d be lonely all by yourself in a big house. Or maybe that you got bored.” Jack picked up an apple, tossing it around.

“I appreciate the offer, but I would like it even better if you were honest with me,” Charlie replied, putting on some water for tea. “Want a cuppa?”

He nodded, leaning against the counter opposite to her. “Let’s just say I made a promise a long time ago to take care of y – anyone I felt attached to.”

“You don’t even know me Jack,” Charlie pointed out, trying her hardest to not sound rude. “I mean, I like you and all, but I barely know anything about you.”

“Isn’t it the same thing with him?” Jack questioned quietly. The teen paused for a moment, not sure of what to say. “Why don’t we fix that? Join me for the day – it’ll be fun.”

Charlie poured the tea into two mugs and handed one to Jack. “I guess it could be,” she admitted, taking a seat. “I’ve got nothing better to do today.”

“That hurts Charlie,” he replied, feigning hurt with a hand over his heart. The teen just quirked her lips slightly and drank her tea.

“So, what exactly do you do anyways?” she asked. He seemed to straighten slightly, pride evident in his posture.

“I’m the head of Torchwood. Well, I was.”

“Isn’t that in Cardiff?” Charlie questioned, eyebrows knit together in confusion. “What’re you doing in London at all? Shouldn’t you be there?”

Jack gave a shrug, leaning on the table. “I left to do some travelling. Pop back to Earth from time to time, like last month. Saw some interesting things.”

“You can travel to other planets?”

“Of course,” Jack scoffed, though he was grinning. “I used to be a Time Agent before I met the Doctor. Still have my vortex manipulator. Kind of like a mini TARDIS.” He paused for a moment before shaking his head. “No, not _quite_ like that. Don’t tell the Doctor I said that, he gets all defensive.”

She chuckled and made a zipping motion across her lips. “Your secret’s safe with me,” she said, getting up to wash her mug. Jack snatched it from her and nudged her towards the stairs.

“You go get ready, I’ll take care of it,” he said, turning on the tap. Charlie hesitated for a moment, which made Jack flick some water at her to make her go. He headed to the front door and slouched against it, waiting. After a couple minutes, the teen made her way down the stair and grabbed a coat from the closet.

“Alright, let’s go,” she said, tying the belt around her and shoving her hands in her pockets.

**. . .**

“I wish we could have saved him,” Amy said, poking her dinner. The Doctor sighed and looked up at her.

“Amy, it was going to happen no matter what we did,” he started, but his companion waved him off. Noticing how upset she still was, he decided to stop.

“I know,” she sighed, putting her fork down with a _clang_. “It’s just – just so sad.” Amy put up her hands, trying to convey what she meant. “They treated him so badly and he just took it to heart.”

“But you showed him the truth,” the Doctor reminded, grabbing her hand on the table. “You showed him what he would become and what he achieved Amy. That’s no small feat. You saw how much it meant to him.”

Amy shrugged, smiling for a moment. “I guess it was better than nothing, yeah?”

He grinned. “Yeah. Much better than nothing.” Glancing at his watch, he drummed his fingers on the table. “So, what now Miss Pond?”

“What did he mean, ‘soldiering on’?” Amy asked, recalling her conversation with the artist. “He said I was sad and then I started crying, for no reason. Why?”

“I have no idea,” he replied, getting up to wash the dishes. “Maybe he just thought you were upset with me or something.”

“Does it always have to be about you?” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Oi, I do not always make it about me,” he whipped around from the sink, dishrag in hand. “You just do that for me.”

“Don’t blame me for your ego mister,” she replied airily, earning water flicked at her face. “Hey! Are you always this much of a toddler?”

He stuck out his tongue. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Amy laughed for a moment before flicking some water back and starting to leave.

“I’m going to get some sleep. That was enough running for one day. Goodnight Doctor.”

“Of course. Goodnight Amy,” the alien replied as she walked away. He let out a sigh when he was sure she was gone and slumped against the counter. It was too much, trying to pretend that everything was fine.

He had ruined everything for her. Her fiancé was gone and she couldn’t even remember the man. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he had a plan to get him back, but the truth was that the Doctor had nothing. No idea as to what he should do or if he could even bring Rory back.

On top of that, he had to lie about the whole ordeal. Usually it came so easily, but that was a different sort of lying. It was simpler when it wasn’t someone’s other half ceasing to exist. He went from three companions to one in such a short amount of time.

And then there was the problem of Alistair and his band of Timelords to deal with. Yet another thing he had no idea how to fix. Except dying of course, but that would cause more problems than it would fix. They wanted something from Charlie – which wouldn’t be so worrying if she was on the TARDIS with him – and needed him to help with it.

The offer was tempting; not helping them, but finally figuring out the mystery that was Charlotte Jackson. He wasn’t sure how long he could stop himself from finding his answer.

**. . .**

“Are you sure this is alright?” Charlie asked, glancing up from the files to look at Jack. He waved his hand dismissively, playing around with something that looked like a pocket watch.

“What are they going to do, fire me? Besides, they’d only collect dust in there,” he said, sitting down on the steps beside her. They had just broken into UNIT and taken practically every file that interested them. A lot of them pertaining to Timelords.

“What about these?” Charlie said, flexing her feet – which were sporting a pair of red heels. “I have no intention of giving them back though.”

Jack laughed and ruffled her hair. “Nah, they won’t miss those. Kate has enough junk cluttering that place up.”

“Still can’t believe they’re in the Tower,” Charlie mused, getting up. Jack followed her example and held the files for her. “I mean, really? I must’ve walked by a thousand times and would’ve never guessed that.”

“You probably wouldn’t have guessed a lot of things a couple months ago,” Jack replied lightly as they began to walk back to his car. “World’s changed a lot since then, huh?”

“I guess so. Well, my perspective of it anyways,” Charlie shrugged. “A little too much for my liking.”

“That’s the price for travelling with him,” Jack said, looking down at her. “You change. For better or worse, not quite sure. It’s worth it though.”

“Why did you leave?” she asked.

“Well, I was abandoned first. I just found something else to do that would allow me to make a difference,” he explained, fishing for his keys in his pocket. Charlie held them up in her hand. “That was quick.”

“I learned when I was a kid,” she said with a shrug. “Was it Torchwood? The reason you left I mean.” The teen seemed to miss the look that Jack gave her.

“Among other things,” he replied vaguely, taking the keys and slipping into the driver’s seat. Charlie got in beside him a moment later.

“So, where are you from? Obviously not from this century,” Charlie observed, deciding not to push him on the previous topic.

“The fifty-first century from the Boeshane Peninsula,” Jack replied, his tone strained. The teen glanced over to see that his knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel. Feeling guilty, she looked out the window for a moment, letting a brief silence fall.

“What about you? Did you grow up in London?” Jack asked, changing the subject.

“As far as I know, yeah,” Charlie replied, turning back to him. “I was raised here, but I’m not too sure where I was born or who my parents were. I didn’t even know I was adopted until a couple months back,” she said.

“I’m sure they didn’t want to give you up, not really,” Jack reassured her, gripping her shoulder for a second. Charlie just made a noncommittal sound.

“It doesn’t matter. They did and I really don’t care to find out why,” Charlie shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re not my parents.”

“Well, they must’ve loved you a lot to give you your best chance.”

The teen gave a mournful smile. “I guess we’ll never know.” It seemed that Jack wanted to say something for a moment before he stopped himself. “Want to watch Harry Potter with me?” she asked, turning away a bit so he couldn’t see her face. “There’s a marathon on tonight. I was going to watch it with Isabelle, but her aunt and everything – “

“How does pizza and a marathon sound?” Jack asked, looking over at her. She turned, stunned for a moment before grinning.

“Sound great to me.”

“Pizza and Harry Potter it is then,” Jack replied, changing gears to park before shutting off the engine. “Delivery?”

“Delivery,” Charlie nodded as she got out of the car. Unlocking the door, she took off her coat and tossed Jack the phone before going to the family room to get it ready.

Five hours later the two were asleep on the cushions strewn around the floor. The pizza box and cans of now-flat cola were perched on the table and the television cast shadows around the room. The two woke with a yell when Jack turned over on the remote and accidentally turned up the volume.

“Wha t’me is it?” Charlie yawned, stretching. Jack rubbed at his eyes and checked his watch.

“Midnight,” he yawned, shutting off the tv. “You should be in bed kiddo.”

“The floor’s comfy though,” Charlie argued, already falling asleep again. The man shook his head and retrieved his coat from the couch, draping it over her before heading back to sleep himself.


	17. Chapter 17

The morning brought complaints about the curtains being open, stiff necks, and frozen waffles that didn’t appear edible at all.

“I’ll just make some pancakes,” Jack said, grabbing some ingredients from the cupboard. Charlotte yawned, nodding her approval.

“Do you want some help?” she asked, picking up the empty pizza box and walking over to the fridge.

“Sure, crack some eggs for me, will you?” he asked, tossing her two eggs. She tossed the box on the table and caught the eggs in time.

“Aye captain,” she replied with a salute, marching to the counter to perform the task. Jack laughed and ruffled her hair, his face sad for a moment before looking for a whisk.  He paused in his search when Charlie’s phone went off.

“What is it?” he asked, finally finding it in the drawer – which he swore he checked twice.

Charlie shook her head and smiled. “It’s nothing The Taylors have to stay for three more days. Isabelle’s cousin needs more help with the baby and her aunt is going to visit so someone needs to mediate.”

“Oh,” Jack said, walking over to the stove. “So you’re going to have to be alone for three days?”

Charlie shrugged, handing Jack the mix and hopping up to sit on the counter. “I’ll manage, it’s nothing new.”

He nodded slightly, checking that the pan was warm enough and pouring in some batter. “Well, I could always hang around if you like. I don’t have much to do and it might be fun.”

The teen tried and failed to hide her grin. “Why not? I’ll just get lonely by myself anyways.”

“Great! I’ll pick up some stuff from my place after we eat.” Jack tried to not show how happy she made him by saying yes. The last time he got to spend this much time with her was years ago. Not like she would remember anyways.

The two chatted about light things while the blueberry pancakes cooked. Once they had finished eating, Jack left to go get his things while Charlie cleaned up from the night before.

**. . .**

“That was interesting,” the Doctor said after a moment, turning to Amy who was also leaning against the TARDIS doors, catching her breath.

Amy half-glared at the man. “You’re not the one that got arrested,” she said, moving away from the doors. “How could they possibly think I was a shapeshifter?”

“Well,” he started before shutting up under the look she was giving him. “How about we go somewhere relaxing, hm?”

“That sound wonderful,” she said. “Where to?”

“How about the fifth moon of Cindie Colesta?” he asked without really asking. “It’s beautiful this time of year. You’ll love it.”

“Fifth moon it is!” Amy agreed, watching as the Doctor spun around the console. When they landed, the Doctor threw open the doors, his face changing to a look of confusion.

“This isn’t the fifth moon of Cindie Colesta!” the Doctor whined. Before he could say anything else, the TARDIS began dematerializing, kicking him out in the process. Amy hung on for dear life inside.

“Trust the old girl to throw a fit,” he mumbled, getting up and dusting off his blazer.

**. . .**

“So, what was growing up like?” Jack asked, moving a white pawn on the board. Charlie watched carefully before claiming it with her black knight.

The two of them were sitting in the living room, sunlight streaming through the curtains as they played chess, each taking turns asking the other a question. A shrug was his response.

“It was nice I guess. I don’t really know what to compare it to, I’ve always grown up in London,” she replied, watching Jack make his move. “Alright, my turn. Have you visited New New York?”

Jack laughed and gave her a smile. “Yes, I’ve already met you before. Even before that, but you’ll get around to it eventually.”

Charlie made an “hmph!” noise, displeased about not knowing when she had actually met the man and under what sort of circumstances. She could have died the first time she met for all she knew. He watched her, an amused expression on his face before tapping her nose.

“Cheer up. It’s my turn,” he said, assuming a ‘thinking man’ pose as Charlie took his bishop. “Favourite childhood memory?”

“That’s a good one,” Charlie commented, running through her memory banks. “A memory I like is when I would go skating with mum and dad when I was younger near the London Eye.” She hesitated for a moment, debating whether she should continue.

“There’s something else. I’m not sure if this actually happened or if I just made it up, but it really is my favourite. A couple days per year, until I turned seven, my parents took me out to the country and we would stay in this little cottage,” she started, a soft smile already forming on her face.

“This one year – I think I was five – my dad took us there during Christmas holidays. He whipped out his ridiculous scarf – I swear it was over five meters long – and took me sledding. I forgot my mittens back at the house with the snowman so he gave me his. We were there for the entire afternoon. We both ended up with sniffles and mum got so mad at dad.” Charlie laughed for a moment.

“She couldn’t stay mad at him long though. She made us hot chocolate and we drank by the fire while he read me a story. It was a version of the Emperor’s New Clothes I think. His name was really weird. Anyways, my uncle visited the next day and it was nice. Best two weeks of my life.”

The two were silent after that for a good five minutes. Charlie was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Jack swipe at the tears in his eyes. The teen turned back to the board, moving her queen swiftly.

“Checkmate!”

Jack laughed and ruffled her hair. “Good job kiddo. How about I whip us up some dinner? It’s getting late.”

“Alright,” Charlie agreed, beginning to pack up the chess set. “Do you want me to help?”

Jack shook his head and helped her gather the pieces. “It’s alright. You grab your homework and work at the table. I’ll help you if you get stuck.”

“Do I have to?” she whined. He raised an eyebrow and she sighed. “Ok, I’ll do my homework.”

“Atta girl,” he said, kissing the top of her head out of instinct and heading to the kitchen. Charlie watched him for a moment before putting the set away and heading upstairs to grab her bag.

Jack waited until he was sure the girl was upstairs to let a few tears run down his face before gathering his composure and getting started on dinner.

**. . .**

It had been at least two weeks since the incident at Craig’s and the Doctor was working on the TARDIS while Amy did some shopping in Paris. In a long life of running, it was nice to just tinker with his ship at times. The Scot had actually compared it to tinkering at a car.

“My ship is way cooler than a car,” the Doctor muttered to himself, earning a hum of approval from the TARDIS.

He had debated on calling Charlie, but he didn’t want to take the chance that he would interrupt her during school or a nap or something else equally important. Besides, he didn’t even know if the teen wanted to talk to him.

One night he was walking through the halls and heard Amy talking to her on the phone. The Timelord said nothing and kept walking past as silently as he could. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, it had hurt. Half of him wanted to just go and check on the girl, even though he knew she wouldn’t forgive him if he did.

The warning from Isherwood had shaken him up more than he liked to admit. Charlie couldn’t regenerate and that madman was still out there. Sure, the Doctor was enough of a madman to hunt him down, but Alistair had something he didn’t – more Timelords.

How that was possible, he had no idea. What he needed to do was find out what they wanted and decide the appropriate plan of action from there. But what use did they have for a fifteen-year-old?

He really didn’t feel like finding out.

Shaking his head, the Doctor hopped out of his sling and headed up to the console, dusting it off. Couldn’t have his old girl getting dusty, now could he? Taking a look at the monitor, he was reminded about the teen’s birthday.

“December seventh,” he mused, thinking up a surprise for her. “Nah, she wouldn’t want me there,” he sighed, pushing the monitor away.

The TARDIS sounded as if she was arguing with her Timelord. “How can I old girl?” he shouted. “She didn’t even want to talk to me!”

It was clear that the ship didn’t approve of his sulking. She made a sound like nails on a chalkboard. He covered his ears until the noise stopped.

“Alright, you win!” the Doctor tried sounding cross, though there was a smile on his face. “I’ll see her on her birthday. I’ve got planning to do.”

**. . .**

Charlie shoved away her textbook and let her head rest on her arms for a moment. Why did she have to write an essay for maths? What sort of sadistic teacher did that kind of thing?

“Looks like you’re dying over here mate,” Isabelle whispered, sliding into the seat next to her. The blonde swatted her hand away when she started poking her.

“That’s because I am. Mr. David is trying to kill me,” she groaned, earning a glare form the librarian. “Can I just not write the damn thing?”

Isabelle shrugged slightly, grabbing her textbook and notebook to see what she had done so far. “Well, you have a good idea here,” she said, clicking her pen. “But you kind of killed it in the end of the second paragraph. When’s this due anyways?”

“Wednesday,” Charlie replied, rubbing her temples. “It’s just so boring. I’m never going to finish.”

“If you don’t finish, you’ll get detention,” Isabelle pointed out. Charlie waved her hand and scoffed.

“I’ve faced worse than detention and got out alright. I’ll take my chances,” she mumbled, running a hand through her curls.  

“That’s what worries me,” she replied, flicking through the textbook and scribbling ideas on the essay. “I mean, he seems like a good guy, but can he really keep you safe? Look at what happened.”

Charlie looked over at her, eyebrow raised slightly in question before shrugging. “I’ve come home, haven’t I? You don’t have to worry Izzy, I’m safer with him than I’ve ever been here.” Isabelle scanned her face for a moment before nodding and looking at the papers once more.

“You seem to believe that.”

“Aren’t I right?” Charlie challenged.

“There was never anything otherworldly trying to kill you here. You’re facing things you’ve never seen before and it scares my Charlie. I’m scared for you,” she stressed, looking close to tears. “I don’t even know about the constant nightmares you have – I’ve heard you so don’t deny it. I’m so worried about you and you just shut me out on the important things in your life.”

The teen looked shocked for a moment. Charlie attempted to say something, but closed her mouth again. “I – I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

Isabelle swiped at her eyes, refusing to look at the girl. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”

“I’ll tell you everything,” Charlie promised. “Just not now. Not here.”

Isabelle nodded slightly. “You could really use more fact than opinion here,” she said, showing Charlie the paragraph she circled. “Might want to just start over.”

“Yeah,” she replied, a bit distracted. “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

**. . .**

She shoved the files to the floor – along with a book she had taken from the TARDIS – and flopped back onto the bed. It was just too much, too unbelievable. Two months in and she still couldn’t come to terms with being a Timelord.

A knock came at the door and she turned her head towards it. “Come in.”

Isabelle poked her head in, took a look at the mess, and shook her head. “Would it kill you to take care of this stuff?” she asked, starting to pick up the papers. Charlie sighed and got up to help her.

“It’s just frustrating,” she said, shoving some papers into a file. “It feels like one big joke.”

Isabelle shook her head and put the last of it on the bed before taking a seat next to it. “What’s really bugging you? You would never deny something – even something like this – if you had the proof.”

Charlie opened her mouth to argue before closing it once more and sitting cross-legged on the bed, flicking through the book’s dusty pages. “I just – I know that I can’t change this. But I would give anything to. At least I think I would. I don’t know what’s holding me back from just accepting it –“

“Is it school?” Isabelle asked.

The blonde shot her a look. “No, of course not.”

“Something’s holding you back,” Isabelle said. “It’s blocking you, tethering you to being human. Just like that time at camp.”

“We don’t ever speak of camp,” Charlie reminded, her tone dark. Her friend just quirked a smile.

“Is it work?”

“I got fired, remember?”

“Friends?”

“You’re my only friend Isabelle.”

“Is it me?”

“No!” Charlie exclaimed, shaking her head. “You’ve been so supportive while I have a breakdown.”

“My family?”

Charlie shook her head. Isabelle looked as if she was making a mental note on something before continuing.

“Is it the Doctor? Amy?” Isabelle questioned.

“No, not either of them,” Charlie replied. Her friend looked as if she was holding something back. Giving in to it, Isabelle asked her final question.

“Is it your parents?”

Silence met her question. Isabelle watched her friend closely, trying to read her actions. Charlie remained stoic, but her thoughts were whirring around in her head. Was it really them? Why would they hold her back?

“Charlie?”

“Why would it be them? I hate them.” Charlie couldn’t even make herself believe the words. Isabelle didn’t speak for a moment; she just moved over to her friend and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Charlie suddenly felt old, weary, and leaned into her support.

“They raised you. They loved you at some point and you loved them. They were toxic and made you afraid of confrontation with the people you encountered in everyday life. The Doctor may make you act different, but you’re still holding on to the old you in ways.” Isabelle looked her friend in the eyes. “You have to let them go.”

The teen showed no signs of comprehension before she nodded slightly. Isabelle squeezed her shoulder before moving away. “How do I do that?” Charlie asked, even though she was forming her own idea.

Isabelle shrugged. “That’s for you to decide. Any ideas?”

“One,” she replied grimly. Isabelle squeezed her hand for a moment.

“I’ll be there to help if you need it.”

Charlie gave a small smile, though she was trying to piece her plan together. “I know Isabelle. You always have been.”

Isabelle grinned and put the files to one side. “How about we go watch that Star Wars marathon and worry about this later?”

“Sound good to me,” Charlie replied before grinning slyly. “I’ll race you.”

“You’re going to lose.” Isabelle gave a smirk and leaped out of the bed, sprinting for the stairs, Charlie at her heels.

“No running you two!”

“Yes mum!”

“Sorry Mrs. Taylor!”

**. . .**

“Hey Jack,” Charlie grinned, running over to give the man a hug. He returned it happily.

“Her there Charlie. How’re you doing?” he asked, leaning against his car. She shrugged, wrapping her coat tighter around herself as the wind picked up.

“I’ve been fine. Doing my research and stuff,” she replied, nonchalant. “How about you?”

“Trying to keep myself busy,” Jack said, shrugging a bit. “It isn’t going too well. Maybe you can help me?”

“How did you –“

“The look on your face. I know it a tad too well,” Jack cut across, smiling. “What is it Charlie?”

She fiddled with her sleeve, trying to form a response in her head. With a sigh, she looked up to meet his eyes. “Can you help me track down my parents?”

Jack seemed startled. “Charlie, are you sure about this? I mean, that’s –“

“I need to talk to them. Confront them about some things,” she said, watching the wind ruffle the leaves. “I need to close that chapter of my life so I can accept the new one. Jack, please,” she begged. “I need your help.”

The captain was silent, hands in his pocket and jaw set as he thought. Charlie was giving up hope by the second. If he didn’t help her, she didn’t stand a chance. Finally he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Alright, I’ll help. But I’m going with you,” he said firmly. Charlie smiled and nodded.

“Of course. Thank you Jack,” she replied. He waved her off, his grin back on his face.

“Anything for you kiddo. Give me a couple days. I’ll call you when I find something.”

Charlie hummed her agreement. “Take all the time you need Jack.” She would have to do the same to prepare for the conversation.

It would be one of the most difficult of her life.


	18. Chapter 18

Amy and the Doctor were both seated in bean bag chairs in the library, content with their novels. The morning had proven to be a strange enough adventure to satisfy themselves for the time being. Besides, being around hundreds of children could prove to be taxing, even if you weren’t teaching them.

“It was a bit Spongebob, wasn’t it?” Amy piped up, lowering her copy of _To Kill A Mockingbird_ for a moment to see her friend’s reaction.

“What?” was his reply, eyebrows furrowed together.

“You know,” she said, waving her other hand, “that kid’s show with the talking sea creatures. They had an episode where they find the ‘magic’ pencil and all their drawings come to life. They draw Spongebob and it ends up being all crazy and tries to kill him so they trap it on paper.”

The Doctor looked at his companion with a look of confusion. Sure, they had gone undercover at a school and defeated a monster made out of pencil, but she just sounded insane! “A children’s show? Humans never cease to amaze me.”

“Oi! You have no right to judge,” Amy shot back, disgruntled. She crossed her arms and sunk lower into her chair. “You dress like a child that was let loose in a Halloween shop.”

He made a face and reached over to flick her nose. “I dress wonderfully! I’m a fashion icon now, remember?”

“Help the poor souls,” she replied, trying her hardest to keep a straight face when he pouted. “Maybe if you got rid of the bow tie.”

“Bow ties are cool,” he replied, subconsciously fixing the red one around his neck.

“Suuuurrrrreee.”

“Oi! . . . Show me that episode, I’m interested now.”

**. . .**

Charlie had her hands pressed together, staring down her cellphone, which was laying on the stack of pillows in front of her. The book from the TARDIS and the files on Timelords were strewn around her, papers shuffled carelessly into piles. It had been near two months since she had called the TARDIS – well, since she had called and spoke to the Doctor.

She just couldn’t speak to him yet. After that first phone call, she couldn’t help but feel more and more furious with the Timelord for hiding so much from her. It was ridiculous, but she couldn’t rein in her emotions on this. Maybe she wasn’t even mad at him for the secrets; maybe it was because he had shown her a different type of life.

She could have been safe – relatively safe – if he had just left her alone. There wouldn’t be a huge dilemma weighing her down at the moment. She wouldn’t be missing Rory and his advice, or feel guilty when talking to Amy, knowing she couldn’t remember him, or about hiding things from Isabelle and her family. Not to mention that she was burdening Jack with all her problems when he surely had some of his own.

The one person that could help her was the one she didn’t want to speak to because she knew she would hurt him if they did. With a sigh, Charlie snatched up the phone and stuffed it in her bag. There was a knock at the door and she swept up the papers, stuffing them in the book and hiding it in her bag.

“Come in,” she said, flopping back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

The door swung open and Isabelle leaned against the doorframe. “What were you doing?” she asked, taking a spot on the bed.

“The usual,” Charlie replied, putting her hands behind her head. “Daydreaming about lunch.”

Her companion grinned and nodded towards the door. “Well, you’re in luck. Mum’s almost done with lunch,” she said, leaning back. “You might not have time for it though. You have a visitor.”

The blonde scrambled to sit up, staring down her friend. “Who?”

“Jack Harkness,” Isabelle replied. “He said he had some news for you.”

Charlie nodded slightly, tugging her sleeve and pulling her thoughts together. “Did he say if he found them?” she asked, looking over to Isabelle, nudging her with her foot. She shook her head in response and the blonde sighed.

“Hey, he might have found something,” Isabelle suggested, noticing the change in her demeanour. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I honestly have no idea,” Charlie shrugged, swinging her legs around to dangle off the edge. “Maybe. Probably not. I’ll have you and Jack, but I just –“she drifted off. It was as if she was frozen there for a moment before Charlie rose and grabbed the doorknob. She glanced at Isabelle for a moment.

“Go on,” Isabelle smiled, waving her hand. “I know you can’t wait.”

“Thanks!” Charlie shouted as she flew out of the room. Pausing to snatch her coat from the rack, she threw open the front door and sure enough there was Jack’s car at the sidewalk. Slipping on the jacket, the teen made her way to it and knocked on the window.

Jack glanced up from some papers and a map, noticing her give him a wave and grinning in response. He unlocked the vehicle and motioned for her to join him. Slipping into the warm interior, Charlie turned to face him better.

“Any news?” she asked, taking a look at the map. It was of London and the surrounding areas. Jack began folding it up and shoved it into the glove compartment.

“I’ve managed to find them, on the outskirts of London,” Jack explained, placing a hand on the wheel and facing the teen. “It’s not too bad a drive. Now it depends on when you want to go.”

Charlie bit her lip for a moment and sat straight in the seat. Jack waited patiently as the teen gathered her thoughts. “Do you think it’s a good idea?” she asked, looking straight ahead. He shrugged slightly, leaning back in his seat.

“If you think you need to do it, that’s enough for me,” Jack said. “If you’re getting second thoughts, maybe you shouldn’t.” His voice was calm though his heart was racing in his chest. What if she did decide to just forget it and not go? The consequences . . . he didn’t want to think about them.

She leaned back and closed her eyes. The whole affair was a terrible idea to begin with. Besides, she wasn’t even 100 percent sure that this confrontation would help her accept the mess she called her life.

“It’s kind of like a Band-Aid,” Charlie said. Noticing that Jack was looking at her as if she had lost her mind, she hurried to continue. “I mean the sooner I get it over with, the better, right?”

The man’s lips quirked upwards for a second. “I guess. So, are you ready?”

“Give me five minutes,” she said before climbing out and heading into the house.

**. . .**

“Aren’t you worried?” Amy asked as the two boarded the TARDIS. The Doctor was already making a beeline for the console, giving a slight hum in response. “Doctor? Are you even listening?”

“What?” he asked, glancing up at her for a moment. “Oh, yes. Of course I am! I’m hurt that you would suggest anything different.”

Amy shot the alien a look, her hands crossed in front of her chest and eyebrow raised. “Really now?”

“I could have possibly misheard,” the alien mumbled, keeping his eyes fixed on the console. He could still feel her eyes bearing down on him. The Scot sighed and plopped herself down onto a seat.

“I asked if you were worried about the book,” she repeated, referencing the one that they had wrote together and gifted to C.S Lewis. “After all, you did write about your travels. What if an enemy reads it?”

“You worry too much Amelia,” the Doctor brushed it off, fiddling with the monitor. “There’s nothing that could be of any harm in that book.”

She shrugged, still a bit uneasy. They could have offended a lot of dangerous people if someone figured out who it was about. “If you say so.”

“I do,” he replied, stepping away from the console and walking towards her. “Now then, maybe we should take a little break from adventures for now. There are other things to plan.”

“Like what?” the redhead asked, watching as he walked past her and up the stairs.

“Charlie’s birthday of course!” he shouted over his shoulder, turning left into a hall. Amy waited a moment to see if he would come back before running after him.

**. . .**

Jack parked at the end of the driveway, turning the key and killing the engine. He had noticed that Charlie and Isabelle had fallen silent five minutes back when he made a false stop. Double-checking the map and address, he turned around to look at the girls.

“It’s the right place this time,” he said, eyes crinkling a bit as he gave a smile. The captain hoped that it would alleviate some of the tension that was filling the vehicle. The pair didn’t return it.

“Did you tell them I was coming?” the blonde asked, voice so soft that Jack barely caught what she had said. It upset him, seeing the contrast to the girl that had been laughing a while ago and the one sitting in the back seat.

He shook his head, wondering if he was supposed to. “No, I didn’t. I can run in now if you like,” Jack added quickly, although they didn’t deserve that sort of luxury in his eyes.

“It’s alright. Probably better that you didn’t,” she mumbled, already sounding as if she was lost in thought.

Jack and Isabelle both shared a look before the girl put a hand on her friend’s arm. “Do you want us to come with you?” Isabelle asked. “You don’t have to do this alone you know.”

Charlie let out a shaky breath. “Yes, please. I think I might run if I don’t have anyone there.”

**. . .**

“Bow down to Rangorr, Brainleader of the Kreech!”

Amy and the Doctor were shoved into a bow by the guards flanking them. The Scot shot him a look, as if telling him that she knew this was going to happen. He simply begged her not to kick the guard in one of his many shins.

“What have you brought me?” Ragnorr – who, in Amy’s opinion, looked like a giant purple floating head with a glowy-thing in the middle of his forehead – rumbled. The guard on the left spoke up.

“Invaders Brainleader,” he rasped, removing a leg from her back so she could straighten. The guard holding down the Doctor did the same.

“Invaders without weapons?” the floating head asked, sounding as if he was bored. The Doctor’s guard spoke up.

“This one is very bright, like you oh mighty Brainlord,” she said, giving another bow. “We thought that you may wish to see them.”

“Who are you?” Ragnorr asked, looking at the Doctor.

“Me? Just the Doctor,” the Timelord waved off, moving away from his guard to inspect his surroundings. They were in the nest, inside a hollowed out tree “So you’re the Brainleader? That’s brilliant, really. Only one every ten generations. You must get lonely.”

“You know much about us,” Ragnorr said, watching him carefully. “It is true. Having no one of the same intelligence is isolating. I wish to travel someday.”

“What’s stopping you?” Amy asked, stepping forward. “Amy Pond by the way, since you didn’t bother.”

“I cannot leave my people without a Brainleader,” he said, though there was a gleam in his eye that she didn’t like. She looked over to the Doctor, but he wasn’t paying attention.

“That’s quite the dilemma then. Now, if you wouldn’t mind letting me return to my TARDIS,” the Doctor started. Ragnorr shook his head – or rather his whole body.

“I cannot let that happen Doctor,” he replied as the two guards restrained both himself and Amy. “After all, a Brainleader cannot leave his people. I nominate you to be my successor.”

“That’s a rubbish idea,” Amy scoffed. “Ouch!” she shouted as their grip on her tightened.

“Are you saying out Brainleader is stupid?!”

“Of course she isn’t,” the Doctor replied quickly. “Merely that I am an unfit successor. Ragnorr is much wiser than me. I could never be a Brainleader.”

“I believe you to be my equal,” Ragnorr replied. “There is no test to say otherwise.”

“There may be one,” Amy cut in, ignoring the look her friend was shooting her. “It is one of the most difficult on my home planet.”

She smirked internally at getting the attention of everyone in the room. “What do you suggest Amy Pond?” Ragnorr asked.

“A crossword puzzle.”

**. . .**

It was just a knock away. Charlie stood at the door, arm raised but frozen in place, refusing to make contact with the door. She could feel Isabelle and Jack’s eyes staring at her back, wondering how long she was going to just stay there.

“I can do this, I can do this, I can do this,” she whispered the mantra under her breath as she closed her eyes and her fist collided with the door three times. There was a few moments of silence before the door swung open to reveal her father – standing there in a plaid shirt and jeans, his brown hair freshly cut.

When his blue eyes met her grey they widened in surprise before losing any trace of emotion completely. “About time you showed up,” Mr. Jackson said, looking down at her. “It’s been months.”

“I – I’m aware of that,” Charlie stuttered, forcing herself to meet his eyes. The sound of footsteps approaching and her father looking past her told her that Jack and Isabelle had walked up the driveway to stand behind her.

“What are they doing here? Who is he?” he asked coolly, keeping his anger in check in front of the stranger and his daughter’s friend.

“Captain Jack Harkness,” Jack spoke up, saving Charlie the trouble. “I’ve had the pleasure to work with your daughter on a few cases. Now, we need to come inside.” He put his foot on the first of three steps, which made Mr. Jackson block the doorway.

“And why should I let you come in?” he retorted. “These are family matters. You have no right to get in the way of my business with my daughter.”

“It is because it’s family business that they are here,” Charlie spoke up, unsure of where her courage was coming from. She might as well use this wave of stupidity to her advantage. “Now we are going to come inside, you are going to call mother, and we are going to have a little chat.”

“How dare you speak to me that way,” he growled, which caused Jack to stand in front of Charlie and Isabelle to shield her friend from what may happen.

“I wouldn’t suggest doing anything besides letting us in _sir,_ and I use that term lightly,” Jack said lightly, though there was a threat underlying his words. “Now, _do as she asked._ ”

Jack must’ve shown him something since Samuel Jackson closed his mouth and moved away to retrieve his wife from the upper floor. Harkness walked in first, not bothering to take off his shoes, followed by Isabelle and Charlie.

“Do you want us to stay in the living room while you talk or. . .?” Isabelle drifted off, catching her friend’s eye. For the first time in a long while, she couldn’t tell what the blonde was thinking.

Charlie’s eyes scanned every object, soaking in the room. It was nothing like what she remembered. Come to think of it, this didn’t even seem to be the same house that they took her to when she was little.

There was no way that they had three properties; the only reason they were allowed to stay here was because her aunt had no use for this property when she was travelling. It just didn’t make any sense. There was no piano – though her aunt could have sold it since the last time they visited – and the yard didn’t have any signs that any sort of tree had ever been there. She could have sworn that she had fallen from a tree here once. . .

“Charlie?”

“Hm?” she replied, looking over to her friend. “Oh, you two can relax here,” Charlie said, waving over to the couch. “We’ll be in the kitchen, so you can still hear us.”

Jack didn’t seem too pleased with the idea, but he nodded and took a seat.

“It’ll be okay,” Isabelle reassured her, giving the blonde a hug that she barely returned and took a seat beside Jack.  Charlie left them both with a half-hearted smile and went to sit down in the kitchen. She wasn’t sure what was louder; her parents footsteps as they marched down the stairs and took the seats opposite from her or her own heartbeats.

“Where have you been?” Sarah asked in the tone that was always a warning bell for Charlie to run. Even now she had to stop herself from trying to disappear into the chair and sit up straight.

“I’ve been travelling,” she replied simply, meeting her mother’s gaze. “I have some questions and you are going to give me some answers.”

“Are we now?” her mother mocked, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. “Don’t forget who raised you child. Show some respect.” A smirk appeared on her face when she saw the teen flinch.

“I’ll show some when you deserve it,” she muttered, staring at the smooth surface of the table.

“Don’t take that tone with you mother,” her father finally spoke. Charlie hated herself for falling silent. Just being around them made her fall back into her old habits. “Tell those two to leave and bring your things. It’s time to leave London.”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Charlie argued, snapping her head up to meet his gaze. “London is my home!”

“We are your parents, so we decide what you do or do not do,” her mother snapped. “Do you understand or have you gotten even stupider since we last saw you?”

“I’m not stupid,” she mumbled, her temper rising.

“Don’t talk back!”

“I will if I like!” Charlie shouted, enjoying the surprised look on her moth – Sarah’s face for that fraction of a second.

“How dare you speak to your parents that way?!” Sarah screeched. “Those people are horrible influences on you. This is for your own good!”

“I get to decide what’s for my own good now! You are not my parents and you never were!” Charlie’s shallow breathing was the only sound in the kitchen for the longest time. She could hear her friends shuffling in the other room, as if debating whether they should come in or not. Finally, her father opened his mouth to break the silence.

“We have clothed you, fed you, paid for your education, put a roof over your head, and this is how you repay us?” Charlie thought his tone was too soft, sounded too hurt to be genuine. Maybe he really did miss her. . .

No, he was guilting her into coming back, into admitting defeat. It was what they had always done. Unfortunately for them she wasn’t the same quiet little girl.

“You beat me, abused me both mentally and physically, locked me out of the house,” Charlie shot back. “You manipulated me, took my money, and forced me into jobs. Why should I give you anything for what you’ve done to me?”

“You were ungrateful,” her mother snarled. “A lazy child who didn’t understand how hard it was to be a parent, so we had to set you straight. It was just discipline. Discipline for an ungrateful burden of a child.”

“I was SEVEN!” Charlie screamed, unaware that she had stood up. “I wasn’t supposed to be grateful for anything! I was supposed to be a kid, make a mess, play with my friends, be lazy and screw up! That’s what children DO! You don’t beat them for being a child!”

“We beat you because we cared!”

“For who?” the teen shouted, feeling the burn of tears rolling down her cheeks. “You didn’t care about me. You never loved me! And you never will! I never did anything wrong!” The realization of what she said hit her like a bag of bricks.

She wasn’t to blame for anything that had happened to her from their hands. It was their fault. It was their fault that they didn’t love her, that they abused her and mocked her.

“It was all your fault. Never mine. You’re heartless,” she whispered. Charlie wasn’t even aware of Samuel’s raised hand until Jack ran out of nowhere and pinned him against a wall. Isabelle ran over to her friend, shielding her in case Sarah got any ideas.

“Never, ever, EVER think about hitting my niece, do you understand,” Jack growled, punching the man in the jaw before putting an arm around each teen and leading them out of the house. Charlie shrugged out of his grip at the end of the driveway, looking him in the eye.

“Why did you say niece?” she asked, searching his face for an answer. “Don’t lie to me.”

Jack sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can’t tell you everything yet. It’s too early in your timeline.”

“What do you mean too early? She deserves an answer!” Isabelle protested. He ran a hand down his face.

“I’ve met an older version of her before. It would jeopardize some future event or something. Listen,” he said, wiping the remaining tears off of her face. “I can’t tell you everything but I can tell you that your parents loved you a lot. They were good people.”

Charlie stayed still for a moment, trying to process what Jack was telling her. He knew her parents, he knew why they gave her up, he knew about her future. And he hid all of that from her. It was exactly what she was mad at the Doctor for.

“Tell me why,” the blonde said, looking up at him. “Tell me why they gave me away. Otherwise I just can’t talk to you.”

“They wanted you to live.”

She raised an eyebrow, unsatisfied with the response. “They wanted me to live?”

He sighed, leaning against the car. “If they kept you, you would survive, not live. I can’t tell you anymore. I’m sorry,” he said.

It was more than the Doctor ever told her about the Timelord thing. “Its fine,” she smiled. “Let’s go home. I’m sure Mrs. Taylor won’t mind having you over for lunch. Well, a late lunch.”

**. . .**

“That was a fun Olympics,” the Doctor said from under the console. He held out his hand and Amy passed him his sonic.

“You stopped a Weeping Angel from stealing the torch. It was average,” she shrugged. Amy really thought it was amazing, but wanted to get a reaction out of her friend. She got her wish, since he slipped out and sat up.

“I got a gold medal!”

“For getting the torch,” Amy reminded. “Believe me Doctor, if you actually had to run a race for it you’d trip over your own feet.”

“I would not!” he replied indignantly. “All I do is run. Madman in a box!”

“You would Doctor,” she argued, leaning on the console. “You’re an uncoordinated housecat. Maybe baby giraffe.”

“Giraffe’s are cool,” he commented before realizing what she said. “Oi! You. . . Dalek,” the Doctor grumbled, waving his sonic around.

Amy smirked, checking her nails to bug him. “I know. I’m amazing.”

**. . .**

It was early in the morning, nearly two weeks later. Not so early that the sun wasn’t out, but early enough that Charlie was the only one stirring in the house. Sneaking down to the kitchen, she pulled some items from the fridge. Making breakfast was the least she could do to thank everyone. Besides, Mrs. Taylor wouldn’t let her lift a finger since she got there.

Charlie usually prided herself on having a decent pain tolerance, but today she didn’t feel like being bothered by a headache. There was already a faint thrumming in her skull, just a ghost of what was sure to come.

Heading to the bathroom, she opened the medicine cabinet and scanned the contents. Finding the bottle of aspirin, Charlie reached for it before pausing and dropping her hand to her side. There had been a time when she could have taken a pill.

Things were different now.

Charlie walked back to the kitchen, a faint smile on her face. She could deal with a little headache for now.

Yes, things weren’t the same as they were before. She most definitely wasn’t the same person, but maybe it was for the best.

Being a Timelord couldn’t be _so_ bad, right?


	19. Chapter 19

“Rise and shine Charlotte Jackson!” Jack announced, parading into her room and throwing open the curtains. Said teen let out a strangled groan, pulling the blankets so far up her head that her feet were peeking out from under them.

“Go t’ sleep Jack, ‘s too early,” she slurred, trying to cocoon herself, hoping it would block out the man. There was another set of footsteps, someone tugging on her blanket, and the next thing Charlie knew, she was hanging upside-down off her bed, staring up at Jack and Isabelle.

“Come on, get dressed. It’s your birthday!” Isabelle exclaimed, going over to the closet and tossing some outfits onto the bed. “There’s so much to do and not enough time to do it in!”

Charlie just let herself fall and curl up into a ball. “It’s not a big deal. I’m just a day older than yesterday, what’s there to celebrate?”

Jack rolled his eyes and helped her stand up with a little persuasion. “You may be just a day older, but it’s still something to celebrate! Come on, we have a whole day planned. I’ll even let you drive my car.”

“Promise?” Charlie asked, raising her eyebrow. She had been begging Jack for the past month to let her drive his ‘precious child’ to no avail. Jack hesitated for a moment before sighing.

“Yes, I promise.”

“Why do you still own this?” Isabelle asked, holding out an oversized green hoodie, her nose wrinkled in disgust. Charlie shrugged, walking over and grabbing it, putting it away.

“I don’t know. Sentimental reasons I suppose,” she replied vaguely. “Why do you still have that horrendous purple hat?”

Isabelle shook her head, motioning to Jack to leave so Charlie could change. “I should really take you shopping again,” she commented before closing the door behind her.

Charlie glanced at the outfits on her bed and turned back to her closet. There had to be something nice and comfortable enough that the pair waiting for her downstairs would approve of. She pulled out a pair of grey jeans and a new pair of combat boots that she had bought with Jack a few days ago. Grabbing her favourite shirt, Charlie took her time getting ready, doing her makeup and combing through her unruly curls.

Twenty minutes later Charlie headed into the kitchen, only to find the entire Taylor family – plus Jack – waiting for her. The table was full of food, though Mrs. Taylor wouldn’t let anyone eat any of it.

“Happy birthday dear,” Mrs. Taylor said, giving the teen a bone-crushing hug. She returned the woman’s hug after a moment, unable to stop the smile on her face.

“Thanks Mrs. Taylor,” she replied once the woman let her go. Charlie took a seat beside Jack, who was eyeing the food.

“Can we eat now?” he asked. Miranda nodded her head and Jack didn’t waste a moment before digging in. Charlie moved her chair away from Jack, trying to keep a straight face when he shot her a hurt expression.

“How does it feel, being sixteen at last?” Mr. Taylor asked, putting down the newspaper to sip his tea and give her his full attention. Charlie shrugged, putting two pancakes on her plate.

“Doesn’t feel much different from yesterday to be honest,” she replied, taking the syrup from Jack, preventing him from drowning her food in it.

“Of course,” he chuckled, making sure everyone had taken what they wanted before serving himself. “But it must feel like a huge leap from the last one. You’ve done a lot in the past year my girl.”

She smiled slightly, passing him the plate of bacon. “Not really me in particular. Just other people doing amazing things and I happened to be at the right place at the right time.”

“Nonsense,” Mr. Taylor replied. “Don’t make what you’ve achieved seem small, and never let others invalidate what you’ve done. We are all so proud of you.”

Charlie looked at the man, her friend’s father, and let what he said sink in. When was the last time someone had said that to her? A long time ago, if ever. She gave him a grin and nodded. “I won’t. Thank you Mr. Taylor.”

He gave her a wink and began discussing something with his wife. Jack had finally pushed his plate away from himself and turned to the teen, who had managed to wolf down her pancakes. Charlie noticed him staring and raised an eyebrow as she poured some tea.

“You’re not allowed to judge me,” she commented, sipping her mug. He laughed and shook his head.

“No, it wasn’t that. How would you like to on that drive with me, just the two of us, before all the festivities begin?”

“Let’s go,” Charlie said, practically leaping out of her chair and putting the dishes in the sink.

“Hold on a second Charlie,” Isabelle said, heading up the stairs to grab something from her room. Charlie sighed internally, shifting her weight side to side while waiting for her friend. When she did appear, she was holding a neatly wrapped box, complete with a – TARDIS – blue bow.

“Isabelle. . .” Charlie drifted off, stepping back and shaking her hands. “You know I don’t want you to waste – “

“We have this argument twice a year, within the same month,” Isabelle sighed, placing the box in her friend’s hands. “It’s never a waste, you’re my friend. Now, open it.”

Charlie was about to argue before realizing that she had never one a single of those arguments over the years and deciding against it. Undoing the wrapping carefully, she opened the box to find a black aviator jacket. She leapt up and hugged Isabelle.

“Thank you! I can’t believe you remembered,” she said, slipping it on. It was a perfect fit. Isabelle waved her hand dismissively.

“You used to stare at it as we walked past the shop. It didn’t seem fair that you didn’t get the one thing you asked for. Happy birthday mate,” the raven smiled, giving her friend a soft shove. “Now go on. We have a lot of work to do and you can’t be here for it.”

“Alright, I see how it is,” Charlie joked, giving her a wave. She peeked into the kitchen to see what was taking Jack so long, only to find that he was already waiting outside. Saying her goodbyes quickly to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, Charlie jogged outside to meet him.

“Get in,” Jack said, nodding towards the driver’s seat. She looked up at him, as if to make sure it was okay. He tossed her the keys. “I’ll teach you as we go along, don’t worry.”

The teen didn’t wait to be told twice, sliding into the driver’s seat. Jack got in beside her, slamming the door shut as she twisted the key, making the engine roar to life.

“Alright, check your mirrors before switch gears with your foot on the breaks. There you go. Now, release it slowly and put your foot on the gas. Take it easy,” Jack encouraged, trying not to overwhelm the teen.

Charlie followed his instructions, gaining her confidence. Mr. Taylor had been teaching her how to drive in his pickup truck, just so when Jack would finally let her drive his car she could impress him. Jack stopped giving her instructions fifteen minutes in, instead giving her directions.

“Take a left here and pull over,” Jack instructed, poking his head out the window as if he was looking for someone. Charlie did as she was told before killing the engine.

“Who are you looking for Jack?” she asked, noticing what he was doing.

“An old friend,” he replied before grinning and turning to the teen. “Would you like to meet her?”

Charlie hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright.”

The two got out of the vehicle. Charlie trailed behind Jack as he jogged over to a woman with a mane of unruly blonde curls and gave her a hug.

“Always good to see you Song,” Jack grinned as they parted. The woman returned the smile.

“The same to you Jack.” Her eyes moved from the man in front of her to Charlie, who was standing behind him and a bit off to the side. Charlie wasn’t sure if she was seeing things, but the woman’s face seemed to light up at the sight of her, her smile growing by a fraction.

Jack seemed to have noticed, since he put an arm around Charlie, bringing her into the meeting. “Charlotte Jackson – “

“Please don’t – not that name anymore,” Charlie whispered. Jack, realizing what he had said, looked angry with himself, but gave her a smile and nodded.

“Charlotte, I’d like you to meet a dear friend of mine, River Song. River, this is Charlie, one of the Doctor’s current companions.”

River seemed to gain some of her composure and gave her a smile, holding out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Charlotte.”

Charlie took the hand and smiled slightly in return. “Nice to meet you Ms. Song. And please, call me Charlie, everyone does.”

“Then you can call me River,” she replied, rubbing her hands together. “How about we all duck into a coffee shop, hmm?”

Everyone seemed to like the idea and the trio ducked into the nearest coffee shop and snagged a table near the window. Jack and River took off their coats, while Charlie decided to keep hers on, moving her phone from her jeans to her jacket.

“I’ll go pay, as a birthday treat,” Jack said, noticing Charlie’s arguing face and heading off before she could say anything. River looked as if she had forgotten something terrible.

“Are you alright River?” Charlie asked after a while, unsure of how to start a conversation. The older woman smiled slightly and nodded.

“Yes dear. I just didn’t know it was your birthday and I didn’t bring anything to give you. That’s the problem with time travel I suppose,” River rambled slightly, still looking a bit upset with herself.

“You don’t have to. I mean, we just met and all,” Charlie replied before realizing that she sounded rude. “You travel too?” she asked quickly in an attempt to cover her bad manners.

The woman seemed to have caught on to what she was doing and laughed. “Yes, I do. When I get the chance to at least. Sometimes I use a vortex manipulator – like Jack’s – and sometimes I get to travel in the TARDIS,” River replied.

“You’ve travelled with the Doctor?” Charlie asked, leaning in to listen to the woman better. She smiled and was about to reply when Jack arrived with their drinks.

“Alright, three hot chocolates,” he said, passing everyone a cup as he sat down.  The women both thanked him before continuing with their conversation.

“Oh, quite a few times,” she said with a slight smirk. “Had quite a bit of fun, did a lot of running. Just a day in the life, right?”

“She’s just a child River,” Jack mumbled, taking a sip from his cup. River shot him a look that the teen seemed to miss.

“I wouldn’t know as of now,” Charlie said with a slight smile. “Haven’t travelled with him in months.”

River gave her a sympathetic look, patting her hand gently. “It can be a bit tough. He can be such an idiot at times, I swear.”

Charlie chuckled. “I know. He has an entire wardrobe full of bowties. I haven’t seen him wear at least half of them.”

“I’m starting to feel glad that I haven’t travelled full time with this incarnation,” Jack commented, leaning back in his chair.

“You haven’t?” Charlie asked. Jack shook his head.

“Nah, I travelled with his last two for a period of time. Only had a few trips with this one,” he replied, looking at his watch. “We better get running kiddo, they’ll want you back by now.”

“I should probably go now too. Lots to do,” River replied, standing up. Charlie’s face fell slightly.

“You can come with us if you like River,” she offered, picking up her half-full cup of hot chocolate. The older woman smiled and shook her head.

“I would love to sweetie, but there are other commitments I have to attend to. You’ll see me soon though, I promise,” she replied. Charlie nodded slightly and held out her hand to shake.

“It was nice to meet you River,” she said with a polite smile. The older woman accepted the hand and returned the smile, but there was something in her expression that Charlie just couldn’t put her finger on.

“It was lovely to meet you too sweetie,” she said before Jack stood up to say his farewells.

“Visit if you can,” he said, giving her a quick hug. “The three of us can do something together then.”

“Possibly,” River commented before giving a wave and walking out of the café. Charlie felt as if she had missed something that had gone on between the two.

“Did you and River have a thing?” Charlie asked once they were back in the vehicle. The tires screeched as Jack swerved to avoid another car.

“We didn’t – What gave you that idea?” Jack spluttered, turning to the teen, who had an iron grip on the side of the door.

Charlie attempted to shrug, eyes fixed on the road. “I don’t know. Just the way you talked to each other and stuff. Never did tell me how you two met.”

“Well, we’re not together,” Jack clarified, pulling up to the Taylor house. “As for how we met; spoilers.”

The teen made a face, finally relaxing when the car stopped moving. “Spoilers? What rubbish is that?”

Jack let out a laugh, shaking his head. “You’ll find out soon enough I suppose. What do you think of River?” he asked abruptly. Charlie shrugged, taken aback by the question.

“I don’t know. She’s nice I guess. Why?”

“No reason,” he replied, nonchalant. “Come on, everyone’s probably waiting for us.”

Charlie waited for a moment, attempting to read her friend’s expression before opening the door and stepping out. She began walking and was almost to the door when she heard the door slam, indicating that Jack had finally followed her. Fumbling for her keys, she sighed and rang the doorbell.

“Must be on my bed,” she muttered, just as she heard footsteps running towards the door. She thought nothing of it, until she heard something crashing and a muffled shout. She turned to look at Jack, who looked just as surprised as her.

“Maybe Isabelle tripped over something?” he suggested, just as the door opened. Neither one of them seemed to expect a redhead to open it.

“Happy birthday Charlie!” Amy exclaimed, holding her arms out for a hug. Charlie stood still for a fraction of a second before wrapping her arms around the Scot.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” Charlie laughed, blinking back tears as they separated. Amy pretended to look offended.

“Of course I’d be here. My little sister’s turning sixteen!” she replied, ruffling the teen’s hair. “Nice makeup by the way.”

“You too,” Charlie commented, hands jumping to fix her hair. “How’ve you been?”

Amy shrugged, waving her hand a bit. “The usual. Lots of travelling and running. Got arrested once.” Noticing the teen’s expression, she waved a finger in her face. “Oi, I didn’t do anything. It just happened!”

“Sure,” Charlie replied, shaking her head. She turned her head to say something to Jack, only to find out that he went to the kitchen. “I swear, he’s going to eat the whole fridge,” she said to Amy before the pair made to follow him.

The teen was surprised to find that the man wasn’t raiding the fridge, or cupboard, or anything at all. Instead, he had been leaning against the counter in deep conversation before both participants noticed the girl. One man straightened his bowtie almost nervously, a hesitant smile on his face.

“Hello Charlie. Thought I’d stop by and wish you a happy birthday,” the Doctor said, holding onto his coat lapels instead of waving his hands around, giving him a grandfather-ish appearance.

“Doctor,” Charlie whispered before running to him and giving him a hug. She didn’t care that she had caught him by surprise and would have sent them both falling to the floor if it wasn’t for the counter. He hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around her, placing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Missed the old man that much, huh?” he joked after they broke apart. The two, along with everyone else in the room, pretended to not notice that they were swiping at their eyes.

“I suppose,” she mumbled in response, rubbing the back of her neck.

The Doctor cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at the teen. He seemed to be extremely interested with his shoelaces. “How are you doing?”

“I’ve been good,” Charlie replied, smiling slightly. “It’s been wonderful, being back home.”

“Oh. Of course,” he said, nodding his head. “Yes, it must have been. That’s good.” A silence filled the room as the Timelord tried to find the words to say what he wanted to. “Have you –?”

“Forgiven you?” Charlie finished, waiting for some confirmation from the alien before continuing. “What you did – all your guesses and hunches, hiding information from me – it was wrong. I need you to understand that.”

The Doctor met her eyes and nodded before looking away. “I’m aware that I upset you. It was wrong of me to do that to you.”

“Good,” Charlie replied. “That can’t happen ever again. If it involves me, or anyone I care about, I want to know. I’ve spent months furious at you Doctor. But I forgive you.”

He looked at her and grinned. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Charlie laughed. “I forgive you Doctor. And I would like to come back, if you’d let me.”

“Always,” the Doctor replied, rubbing his hands together. “Now then, where would you like to go? Anywhere and anytime you want – a birthday treat. I’ll have you back here in time for your party.”

“Well, how about Babylon?” she asked.

“Sounds wonderful. Amy, are you coming?” the Doctor asked, glancing over to the redhead. She shook her head.

“Nah, you two go along and bond,” she replied, waving them off. “Go on then!”

“Right. Come on Charlie,” he said, running out the back door. Charlie waved to everyone before following him, trying to catch up.

“You left her outside?” she asked as they walked in.

“The old girl will be fine. She always is,” the Doctor replied. “So, what did you and Jack do today?” he asked, fiddling with something on the console before flying his ship.

“Just went for a drive,” Charlie replied. “Met a friend of his, River Song. She said she’s travelled with you before.”

The teen held onto the railing as the ship lurched for a moment. She tried not to laugh at the Doctor’s flustered expression.

“Has she travelled with you Doctor?” she pressed.

“Well, yes. She’s travelled with me more than I have with her. Our timelines are back to front, always meeting in the wrong order,” he said quickly, waving his hand. “It can get quite annoying.”

“Do you and River have a thing?” Charlie grinned. “You do, don’t you.”

“What?” the Doctor became even more flustered. “No, of course not. Never in a million – why are you laughing? What has Jack told you?”

Charlie waved him off, trying to control her breathing. “You two definitely have a thing. Look at you!”

“Shut up,” the Doctor mumbled. “Alright, forget about River. We have a whole city to explore!” He strode away from the console and threw open the door. “Birthday girl first, of course,” he said, giving a slight bow.

Charlie walked out of the TARDIS and grinned, the Doctor following right after. “It’s so beautiful,” she said, moving out of the way for two running children who were playing some sort of game. She could hear their mother calling for them to hurry, that it was time they went to sleep. Stalls were closing for the day and the sunset rippled off of the river.

“It really is,” the Doctor agreed before something caught his eye. “Hold on a minute. What is he doing?”

He barely gave the teen a warning before running towards a man with a beard fiddling with star charts. Charlie sighed and ran after him. As she got closer, she noticed that the man had been drawing up a new constellation, but she couldn’t tell which one it was supposed to be.

“Hello there, I’m the Doctor and this is my friend, Charlie. We’re here to inspect the star charts,” the Doctor said quickly, whipping out the psychic paper before tucking it back into his jacket. “Now, you must be the town astronomer.”

“I am,” the man replied, stopping in his work to look at the two. “My name is Urtaki. I am in charge of documenting the night sky. Now, how may I assist you both, Doctor and Charlie?”

“The constellation you’re adding,” Charlie started, just as the Doctor opened his mouth, “could you tell us about it? Like the name, when it showed up, things like that.”

Urtaki looked a bit taken aback by her question – maybe because he expected the Doctor to be in charge – but answered nevertheless. “We call it Gryphon. It appeared in the heavens just a few nights ago. At first we thought it was just a trick of the eye, but as you can see, that was not the case.”

“Gryphon?” Charlie asked. Urtaki nodded.

“I can point it out to you both if you like. Once it’s dark of course,” Urtaki offered. The Doctor nodded.

“Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you,” he said, putting a hand on Charlie’s back and leading them away so Urtaki could finish his work. “What do you think?”

“A constellation can’t just appear now and disappear by our time, can it?” Charlie asked, furrowing her brows. “Even if it did die out, what are the chances that they would all at the same time? Besides, we’d still be receiving the light.”

“That is highly unlikely,” the Doctor replied, looking up at the sky. “What option do we have left Ms. Jackson?”

Charlie winced slightly, but decided to tell him about it later. “What option is there? Aliens?” noticing the smile on his face, she raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding me.”

The Doctor was about to reply when Urtaki walked up to them. The sky was dark enough for them to start noticing the different stars burst to life.

“That is Gryphon, the newest constellation,” Urtaki said, connecting the stars for them to see the image better. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It really is,” Charlie agreed, trying to trace the constellation herself. “Did it really just show up a few nights ago?”

Utaki nodded, watching the skies. “It just appeared one night and some of the children started calling it Gryphon. I decided to keep the name.”

“Doctor?” Charlie called, looking back at the man. His eyes were fixed on the glowing constellation. “Doctor, what’s wrong?”

“It’s getting brighter,” he said, looking at the girl. “It has to be alien technology, gathering information on the humans and projecting what they’re thinking onto the tech.”

“Or just a really interesting constellation?” Charlie offered.

“Not likely,” the alien replied, pointing at the group of stars. It grew brighter before the light shifted to create some form. It was only when its wings unfurled that Charlie understood what it was. The stars had become an actual gryphon.

“Okay, alien tech it is,” she said before running to get a closer look.

“Charlie! It could be dangerous!” the Doctor shouted at her retreating form before sharing a look with Utaki and running after her. “Everyone, stay back! Keep the children away!”

He finally caught up to the teen and pulled her away from the half-lion, half-eagle creature, just in time to stop her from being trampled by the city guards. One of them – Charlie assumed he was the captain – was shouting orders at the others.

“Don’t attack it!” Utaki yelled, making his way through the crowd. “Put your swords down!”

“Listen to him,” the Doctor said, walking up to them. “Swords will just make it angry –”

“Quiet foreigner, or I will send you and the girl to the gods,” the captain hissed, making the Doctor step back.

“Fine then, take a shot,” the Doctor replied, standing beside the teen. His posture told her that he wasn’t pleased with the treatment, but wasn’t angry enough to watch them die.

The guards attempted to stab the gryphon, but watched in horror as their swords just passed through it without leaving a mark. All it managed to do was make it angry. The gryphon screeched, knocking half of the guards into the river and making the crowd panic. There was blood on its claws.

“How do we stop it Doctor?” Utaki asked, pulling the man out of the path of the gryphon. The Doctor had his sonic out, scanning the creature.

“I don’t know yet,” he replied before looking around. “Where’s Charlie?” the Doctor asked the astronomer, who shrugged in response. “Great, a gryphon’s wreaking havoc and I lost a sixteen year old,” he mumbled, putting away his sonic.

“Doctor, I think I found her,” Utaki said hesitantly, pointing towards the gryphon. Charlie had ran into the gryphon’s way, keeping its attention as a group of children ran back to their mothers.

“Charlie, get out of there!” the Doctor called, panicking at this point. All he received was a thumbs up in return. He watched as the teen rolled to the side as the gryphon swiped, getting back up with a sword in her hand.

“Doctor, it might be alien, but it’s made of light,” Charlie shouted, angling the flat side of the blade to catch the light from the torches. The gryphon stepped back and decided to go another way before Charlie changed the angle again.

“Atta girl,” the Doctor whispered with a smile before straightening. “Everyone, grab mirrors! All the mirrors you can!”

He walked over to Charlie and grabbed the sword from the captain, helping her keep the gryphon at bay while the people surrounded it with mirrors. It took a few of the guards and Utaki to put the last, large mirror on top to complete the reflective prison. It was only then that the pair dropped the swords.

“What do we do now Doctor?” Charlie asked, walking over to the man. He clapped her shoulder and smiled. Taking out his sonic, he did something to the mirrors before pocketing it.

“Now we wait for the signal to fade.”

**. . .**

The two stepped into the TARDIS just after dawn broke. It was an eventful night for the two of them, considering the townsfolk wanted to throw a party. When they opened the top of the prison at sunrise, they watched as the gryphon faded from existence, its connection severed.

“That was fun,” Charlie said, leaning against the TARDIS console. The Doctor smiled and walked over, checking the monitor for something.

“I’m glad you thought so,” he replied, fiddling with the typewriter and glancing back at the monitor. Charlie leaned over, trying to see what he was doing.

“Doctor what is it?” she asked, stretching to try and get a view of the monitor, which he kept moving. “What did we just talk about before coming here?”

The Doctor sighed and showed her the monitor. “I was just scanning you, that’s all. Alistair said there was something wrong with your DNA and I was checking to see if he was right.”

“Is he?” Charlie asked, glancing at the monitor. “It’s highlighted my brain. Why is that?”

“Because it hasn’t been unlocked,” he replied, pointing to the text. “Can you read that?”

Charlie focused for a moment before shaking her head. “It’s just a bunch of circles.”

“It’s Circular Gallifreyan, like the drawing in your notebook,” the Doctor explained. “You should be able to read this, but you can’t because the Timelord essence of your brain hasn’t been unlocked. The rest of your biology has though. Except for regeneration of course.”

“Why was it locked in the first place?” Charlie asked. “I mean, if it was to hide me it worked for a while. No one started bugging me until I met you. But why hide me? And why is it unlocking now?”

“A Timelord is valuable,” the Doctor replied, half-listening. “I feel like Alistair knows why. As for why it began unlocking, it must be the TARDIS. It would take something as powerful as the old girl to lock up DNA like that. Spending time with her must have begun to unlock it.”

“Then why isn’t my brain unlocked?”

“It would take a little more energy to do that. We’d have to wire you up to the old girl,” he said softly. “It would hurt and that’s exactly what Alistair wants, which is why I won’t do it.”

“Thanks for asking,” Charlie mumbled. “I can’t stay like this forever Doctor. Halfway between two species. It just won’t end well for anyone.”

“I know, I know,” the Doctor sighed. “We’ll decide in the morning. You have a birthday party to go to.”

Charlie gave him a look that told him that she wasn’t going to forget about this before walking to the doors and pausing. “Are you coming Doctor, or are you going to make me wait here?”

The Doctor smiled slightly and shut of the monitor, following the teen. She waited until he was beside her before walking out the doors and making the trek back to the house.

“We’re back!” Charlie called, shaking the snow out of her hair and heading to the living room, where everyone was gathered on the couches, lost in their own conversations.

“You’ve been two hours!” Amy said once she caught sight of the two, getting up to hug Charlie. “I was starting to wonder if you’d ever make it back.”

“Where’s Jack?” Charlie asked, looking around for the man.

“He got a call and had to go do something,” Isabelle answered, walking up to her friend and steering her into an armchair. “He’ll be back soon. Now, presents before cake.”

“Alright, alright,” Charlie said, tucking her legs in and getting comfortable in the armchair. She had received several books from Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, a pair of earrings from Victorian Era London and a necklace from Amy, and was just about to open Jack’s gift before the man himself came through the door.

“Nice timing Jack,” the Doctor commented from his seat near the Christmas tree. “What took you so long?”

“I was picking up a friend,” Jack replied, hanging up his coat as River walked through the door, dusting herself off.

“Hello sweetie,” she smirked at the alien. While the Doctor searched for words, Charlie got up and went to hug the woman.

“I thought you had other things to do,” Charlie said, pulling up some chairs for Jack and River.

“Plans can be changed,” River commented airily, giving the girl a smile. “I couldn’t miss your birthday after all.”

“What are you doing here River?” the Doctor finally said, much to the amusement of his companions. The woman raised an eyebrow.

“I came for her birthday Doctor, do keep up. I’m sorry, I haven’t met you before,” River said, walking over to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor to introduce herself. “River Song. I’ve had the pleasure to meet your daughter before, but that hasn’t quite happened yet.”

While Isabelle explained what River meant to her parents, Charlie opened Jack’s present. “Jack, it’s wonderful,” she grinned, plucking at the strings of the violin. “Thank you,” she said, leaning over to give him a hug.

Jack smiled and ruffled her hair when they broke apart. “Anything for you kiddo.”

River fiddled with the bow on the gift for a moment before handing it to the teen. “I had some time and thought, since it’s your birthday, I might pick something up for you,” she babbled, handing the teen the gift.

“Thank you River. You didn’t have to,” Charlie said, taking the gift carefully. She undid the ribbon and put it to the side – it really was beautiful – and undid the wrapping. Inside was a purple calligraphy pen and a blue-leather journal that resembled the TARDIS.  Flipping through it, Charlie saw that the pages were all actual parchment.

“It’s – wow,” Charlie beamed, looking at a nervous River. She walked over and gave the woman a hug. “It’s perfect. Thanks River.”

River smiled and hugged the teen a bit tighter. “You’re welcome. Happy birthday sweetie.”

Charlie went around to give the others their hugs and thank them for the gifts. As Mrs. Taylor ushered everyone into the kitchen for dinner, the Doctor walked up to the teen and placed a box in her hands. She looked up at him, asking a silent question before opening it.

“No way.”

“I thought you would need one,” the Doctor replied as the teen slipped the TARDIS key around her neck, tracing the number two on it. She flipped it over, noticing something in Circular Gallifreyan.

“What does it say?” Charlie asked, looking at the man.

“Charlie,” he replied, smiling down at the teen. “Is it alright?”

She grinned and gave him a hug. “It’s perfect. Thank you Doctor.”

“You’re very welcome. Happy birthday old girl,” the Doctor replied. Charlie made a face and smacked his arm lightly.

“Oi, I’m only sixteen Spaceman,” she said, heading to the kitchen to get something to eat. “Hurry up or Jack will eat everything!”

“Hey! I resent that young lady!”

**. . .**

Charlie shrugged off her jacket and hung it up, cleaning up the mess in the living room with River, who insisted on helping.

“I hope today was to your liking,” River said, grabbing the last of the teacups. Charlie grinned.

“It really was wonderful. Best birthday ever,” Charlie replied. “Babylon was great.”

“I can imagine,” River commented. “Had to do some running?”

“I fought a gryphon,” she said proudly. “Not what I’m used to, but it was awesome.”

“A gryphon? Impressive,” River said, her voice full of pride, though she paled a bit. “Must’ve been dangerous. Didn’t get scared at all?”

Charlie thought for a moment before shrugging. “It never really occurred to me. I guess I should have been, but I was just high on adrenaline.”

The older woman nodded her agreement. “One of the positives of travelling with the Doctor. It’s never boring.”

There was a crash outside that had River pull out her gun, the Doctor and Jack running from the other room, holding out their sonic and gun respectively. Mr. Taylor appeared in the doorway and moved to look out the window.

“Relax everyone, it’s just the cat,” he assured them. There was a bit of hesitation before the three put their weapons of choice away.

“We kind of feed the stray,” Charlie explained before heading to the kitchen. “I’ll take care of it this time.”

“Be careful,” the Doctor and River called after her at the same time.

“Aren’t I always?” Charlie smirked before heading out the back door. The adults went back to the family room to chat when they heard a gunshot outside.

“Charlie’s still outside!” Isabelle shouted, trying to run to the door before her mother held her back.

“You stay here! Let the others bring her in,” Mrs. Taylor said to her daughter, just as the Doctor jumped over the couch, sprinting out the door. River, Jack, Amy, and Mr. Taylor weren’t far behind him.

His hearts stopped for a minute when he noticed Charlie crumpled on the deck, trying to lift herself up. Blood was seeping through her shirt. He ran to kneel beside her, pulling her into his lap.

“I told you I would find a way to make you do as I say,” Alistair commented, turning the gun in his hand before tossing it away. Jack and River’s hands jumped to their own weapons.

“What did you do?!” the Doctor screamed. Alistair smirked and stuck his hands in his pockets.

“I shot her. Now, she wouldn’t use up a regeneration cycle on a wound like this, I was careful about that part. But she will need some energy to heal or she’ll die. Have fun Doctor.”

River was the first to shoot at the man, he was already running. “I’ll get him, you stay here!” Jack shouted, running after the man.

“Get her to the TARDIS. We can help her there, yeah?” Amy asked, trying to disguise her panic. “Doctor, answer me!”

“We have to take her now Doctor,” River explained. His eyes met hers for a moment before he scooped up the teen and ran as fast as he could to the TARDIS, his companion and River following close behind.


	20. Chapter 20

The three piled into the TARDIS, trying to not let panic to could their minds. River immediately went to the console, barely giving Jack enough time to enter the ship before she took off. Amy went to go find some towels to attempt to staunch the bleeding.

“Any sign of him?” River asked, glancing over at the man. He shook his head.

“He just disappeared,” Jack growled, running a hand though his hair. “Right in front of me.”

“That’s the least of our problems for now,” Amy said as she came back and kneeled beside the Doctor.

He was on the floor, cradling the unconscious teen to his chest, muttering under his breath. His coat was wrapped around her in an attempt to keep her warm. Amy put a hand on his shoulder, as if warning him before moving the teen to stop the bleeding with the towels.

“Jack, come help me,” the Scot ordered more than asked. He complied almost instantly, dropping to his knees and following her instructions.

“River, what’s taking so long?” Jack asked, noticing the woman was struggling with something. She let out a sigh of frustration.

“She’s being difficult! She’s never been difficult before.”

Silently the Doctor allowed Amy to hold the teen completely and walked to the console. After a few moments of fiddling, the wheezing noise filled the room, signalling the ship was in flight.

“Pick her up Jack. Quickly!” River ordered once they had landed, opening the doors for the man as she ran out to call a nurse.

Jack followed suit, going as fast as he dared with the girl in his arms. Amy looked towards her friend, who was leaning against the console, looking down at his shoes.

“Doctor, where are we?” she asked. It was more to get him to talk than for her to get some information.

“The best hospital in the universe,” he replied simply, waving her off. “Go and stay with River.”

He knew the Scot wanted to argue, wanted to drag him there with her. For a brief moment, he could actually see that becoming a reality. He was thankful when she just left silently, closing the doors behind her.

The Doctor waited there for a moment to make sure that she wouldn’t be returning before wandering down the hallway until he found an open door. His ship knew exactly what he needed at the moment. A pristine room full of glass objects to destroy. Grabbing a teacup from the table, he turned it over in his hands.

With a shout he flung it at the wall, satisfied when he heard it smash.

**. . .**

Charlie had been taken almost immediately, going to an operation room to remove the bullet. Jack had practically paced a hole through the floor. Amy sat by River, both women silent in favour of keeping their thoughts to themselves. It was how they had spent the last four hours in the waiting room.

“Where is he?” Jack said, stopping in front of the women. He looked expectantly at Amy, who only shook her head.

“He stayed in the TARDIS,” she replied. “I thought he’d join us after a while.”

Jack just shook his head, laughing humorlessly to himself. “That sounds like him, just hiding away in his box.”

“Don’t talk about him like that,” River said, raising her head from her hands. Amy could notice the tear stains on her cheeks, sparking her curiosity. Why did Charlie mean so much to River? They had only just met.

Jack looked as if he was going to argue before he closed his mouth, his gaze softening. “I’m sorry. I’ll go get us all some coffee.” Without waiting for any kind of reply, Jack walked off, turning out of sight down a hallway.

Amy watched the older woman for a moment, trying to decide if she should strike up a conversation. She couldn’t help but compare her to the woman she had met previously with the Doctor. While River had been confident and strong then, she just looked weary now.

“Why don’t you go talk to him?” Amy asked, turning away slightly when River turned to her. “I don’t think he’ll listen to me, but he’ll listen to you. You’re probably his wife.”

River smiled slightly. “I already told you Amy that information is under spoilers. I can neither confirm nor deny it.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “I know. It still doesn’t change the fact that you have the best shot of getting through to him,” Amy replied, offering a small smile. “Go on. I’ll call if anything changes.”

The older woman nodded and patted her knee before getting up. She let her mind go on autopilot, guiding her to the TARDIS with ease.

“Doctor?” she called as she walked inside the ship. Noticing he wasn’t in the main console room, the woman began her search of the TARDIS. It took fifteen minutes before she an open room.

She entered quietly, her footsteps feather-light. It looked as though a storm had ripped though it; shards of glass littered the floor and the furniture had been tossed around like ragdolls. Sitting against a wall was the Doctor, his stare focused on the opposite wall.

“What do you want River?” he asked flatly. He didn’t turn to look at her even when she walked closer and crouched down.

“I came to see you, bring you outside,” she replied, keeping her tone soft. Reading the Doctor’s emotions carefully, she put her hand on his arm. When she didn’t receive a reaction, she decided it was alright to continue. “Charlie will be alright Doctor –”

“How can you be so sure?” he spat out, moving out of the woman’s touch. “How River?”

“Spoilers,” she whispered, sighing and standing up. “You can’t just sit here and wallow in self-pity Doctor. Come outside and talk to us. Don’t just bottle it up.”

“Don’t you dare tell me what I can and cannot do River Song!” the Doctor roared, standing up. “That girl is my responsibility and I failed her! She would be safe if I didn’t insist on seeing her again, if I had just left her alone.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” River replied, crossing her arms. “She would be unhappy and Alistair would still be after her.”

The Timelord walked up to the woman and grabbed her arms. “She is hurt because of me River. Because of me!” The woman didn’t flinch as he screamed, letting him let out his rage.

“I was supposed to take care of her, protect her. I failed,” his voice cracked slightly and he released his hold on the woman, turning around and taking a few steps away from her. “I let her get hurt. How am I any better than those people she called her parents?”

“Because if you were there you wouldn’t have let it happen,” River whispered, causing the Doctor to turn around and look at her. “What’s happened has happened Doctor. Now we have to figure out how we’re going to help her when she comes to.”

The Doctor sighed in defeat, his shoulders drooping. “Alright then River. What do I do?”

“What you were supposed to do a long time ago,” she replied, nodding to the door. “Let her be a full Timelord.”

“Then we have some work to do Miss Song,” he said, rubbing his hands together, eyes lighting up. He walked out of the room to retrieve some things they would need. If he couldn’t help the teen right now, he might as well let her belong to one group fully instead of balancing between human and Timelord.

**. . .**

Everything hurt.

Attempting to sit up, Charlie’s arms gave way and she landed with a thud on the bed. She groaned, a spike of pain travelling up her side. Looking around was useless; she could only make out vague shapes without her glasses. Where were they anyways?

“You really must stay in bed Miss Charlotte,” a woman’s voice said somewhere to the right of her. The unfamiliar voice only made Charlie move away from the source, removing some IV tubes while she was at it.

“It’s alright dear, I’m your nurse,” the voice said, gently taking her arm and fixing the IVs. “Would you like to see your friends?”

The teen had calmed down slightly, moving back to the center of the bed. “I wouldn’t be able to see them anyways, but yeah,” she replied, trying again to sit up. The nurse helped her do so, raising the bed and making sure she was comfortable.

“Of course, you need your glasses,” the nurse said. There was some shuffling before the black frames were pressed into Charlie’s hand. “We had to get them fixed. Try them on and see if they’re alright.”

She did just that and the world swam into focus. Charlie realized that her nurse seemed to be a cat-person. “They’re perfect, thank you,” she said with a smile. Weirder things had happened after all, and there was no need for her to be rude about it.

“Wonderful,” the nurse smiled. “I’ll send in your friends right away,” she said, walking out the door.

Charlie had a moment of peace for herself before the door was practically flung off its hinges and everyone filed inside around her bed.

“How’re you feeling?” Amy asked, her Scottish drawl trying to seem casual. Charlie gave a slight smile and waved a hand over herself, trying not to disturb the various tubes and needles.

“I’ve had better days,” she admitted, wincing when she tried to move herself. “How long have I been out?”

“About fourteen hours,” Jack answered, glancing at his watch. “You really gave us a scare there kiddo.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “What about Alistair? Did you catch him?”

“There will be time to worry about him later,” River spoke up, shooting Jack a look. “The nurses said that the surgery was a success for the most part and we should be able to leave soon.”

“I’m not too sure about that River,” the teen said, trying to not sound rude, “I can’t exactly move and these IVs don’t seem like they’re going anywhere for a long time.”

River just smiled, glancing at the Doctor standing beside Amy. “Yes, about that. There’s something that you should know.”

The Doctor smiled softly before looking down at the teen. “It’s about time we unlock everything, huh? Don’t worry about the whole regeneration thing, it’s not fatal anymore. You’ll just heal yourself,” he added quickly, noticing the look on her face.

“How exactly are you going to do this Doctor?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. “We can’t just wheel her to the TARDIS and pretend no one will notice.”

“Yeah, isn’t there paperwork we have to do or something?” Amy added. River waved her hand dismissively.

“No need to worry about that, already took care of it,” she said.

“Don’t you have to be her parent of guardian or something?” Amy questioned.

“Like you haven’t lied while doing paperwork,” River countered, avoiding the question. Jack gave her a look before focusing on the Doctor.

“Back to the matter at hand; how’re we getting her out? We can’t just steal the bed.”

Five minutes later and there were doing exactly that. Amy was wheeling the bed as fast as she could while Jack ran alongside with the multiple IVs. They had decided against unhooking her from any of them. Meanwhile Charlie had a death grip on the sides of the bed.

The Doctor and River led the way, shouting for people to move and apologizing to anyone and everyone. When they were close enough to the TARDIS, the Doctor snapped his fingers and opened the door. He dived out of the way as Amy came charging through with the teen.

“Never again,” Charlie whispered, pale and unmoving. Amy waved her off.

“Come on, you’re fine.”

“We almost killed someone!”

“Details,” the Scot said dismissively.

“This is lovely, really, but now what?” Jack interrupted, closing the doors behind him. The Doctor sprung up from the floor and rubbed his hands together.

“Yes, right. Now the tricky part. Jack, you and River get Charlie underneath the console. Amy, get rid of the IVs. Put them in the medical bay or something. I’ll get us in flight,” the Doctor ordered.

Amy removed the IVs carefully from Charlie’s arms, making sure she was alright between each one and wheeled them away. Charlie’s death grip resumed on the bed as it was lifted down the stairs.

“Sorry sweetie,” River smiled apologetically, noticing the teen. She just gave a small nod in response and relaxed when they finally put her down.

The area looked like a makeshift medical bay, except that everything was connected to the ship, not machines. Footsteps could be heard and soon the three were joined by Amy and the Doctor.

“What exactly are you going to do Doctor?” Jack asked, glancing around the area.

“I’m going to transfer some huon energy from the heart of the TARDIS to Charlie,” the Doctor explained, motioning to River to help him with the mock IVs. “This all started when she first came in contact with the TARDIS and only something as powerful as the old girl could lock away everything. All of this should give the last push and unlock everything.”

“Are you sure? I mean, remember the last time someone fooled around with the heart of the TARDIS,” Jack reminded, shaking his head. “I don’t like this.”

“I remember Jack,” the Doctor said solemnly. “That won’t happen this time. She isn’t human.”

“I’m right here you know,” Charlie muttered. Everyone was just dancing around her, talking as if she wasn’t here. “I trust the Doctor and I’m also in a lot of pain right now, so let’s give it a shot.”

The Doctor smiled and stroked her hair for a moment before grabbing a needle from River and carefully placing it in her arm. He repeated the process a few times, placing two things on her temples to complete the hook-up portion of the plan.

“Everyone upstairs,” the Doctor ordered. “It’s best if it’s just us for now.”

“See you soon Charlie,” Amy smiled, shooting a look at the Doctor before complying. River and Jack followed soon afterwards, leaving the two alone.

“I would usually lie and say this won’t hurt a bit, but it’s going to hurt a lot,” the Doctor said, making sure nothing was tangled. He offered the teen a smile.

“Thanks for not sugar-coating it,” Charlie replied, exhaling. “You think this will work?”

“Yes, I do,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze. “Would I ever lie to you? Sorry, don’t answer that,” he added quickly, noticing the teen raise her eyebrow.

“Why did you make everyone leave?” Charlie asked. The man shrugged.

“I just thought you wouldn’t want them to see you while. . .” he drifted off, letting her fill in the rest of the sentence. She smiled and squeezed his hand.

“Thanks Doctor,” she said before sighing. “Let’s get this over with.”

“As you wish,” the Doctor replied, pulling out his sonic. He kissed the teen’s head before moving away from her. He pointed the sonic at something she couldn’t see.

After that, all she could feel was a searing pain. It felt as though her very cells were on fire, tearing themselves apart and putting themselves together over and over again. Charlie wasn’t sure if she screamed or not, but she was aware of a hand brushing back her hair.

As the pain began easing, she noticed that her side wasn’t throbbing anymore. Once it had stopped completely, Charlie bolted to sit upright, glancing at the Doctor. He grinned and kissed the top of her head, getting rid of all the tubes and wires.

“You’re a Timelord now. Just Timelord,” the Doctor said before rambling on. “Well, technically you haven’t graduated from the Academy, so you’re not a Timelord per say, but I’ll teach you everything that you really need to know so you are a Timelord since I say so.”

She just smiled and gave him a hug. “Thanks Doctor,” Charlie whispered, pulling away,, face scrunched in thought. “Your scarf.”

“What about it?” the Doctor asked. Charlie just looked at him intently.

“Do you have a scarf? A long one?”

“Yes, I do,” the Doctor replied, wondering what was going on in her head. He brushed it off. She was probably still getting used to having all that extra memory and higher processes. “I’ll show you soon. Right now, the others will want to see you. You can change if you like first,” he motioned to her clothes at the foot of her bed.

“Yeah, okay,” Charlie replied, accepting the Doctor’s help off the bed. He headed up the stairs, giving her some privacy as she changed out of the hospital gown. Normally she would have wondered how they got her new aviator’s jacket, but there was too much on her mind.

The faces from her memory. The one where she was playing with her uncle and her father. Where her mother had been cooking. The old house where she would go to as a child.

She remembered the faces.

When she made her way to the main floor, she could hear people talking from the kitchen. The smell of whatever they were eating reached her and made Charlie realize how hungry she actually was. Heading into the kitchen she found Isabelle among the others, eating dinner. That explained the jacket at least.

“How long have I been down there?” Charlie asked, taking the empty chair. River immediately took her plate and put a heaping helping of spaghetti on it before handing it back.

“Two hours,” River answered, giving the teen a smile. “Eat dear. You must be hungry.”

Charlie didn’t need to be told twice as she dug in, listening to everyone’s conversations. Amy and Isabelle were talking about something that she couldn’t catch, River and Jack were arguing about the best way to fix a vortex manipulator, and the Doctor occasionally jumped in.

This was nice. Her entire family was in one place. Well, _almost_ everyone. Rory wasn’t.

“Are you alright dear?” River asked, putting her hand over the teen’s for a moment. Charlie looked at her and smiled.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, pushing away her now empty plate. “Want to help me find something?”

“Sure sweetie,” River replied, slightly taken aback. Charlie took their plates and put them in the sink before heading to the wardrobe. She needed to know.

“I’m looking for this scarf,” Charlie said, rummaging through some boxes. “This long, ridiculous scarf.”

“I think I know what you’re looking for,” River said, starting her search. If Charlie had bothered to look up, she would have noticed the older woman’s face transition from worry to regret to joy.

It took a few minutes before River found that ridiculous scarf. “Here we go,” she said, handing it to the teen. “Is that the one?”

“Yes,” Charlie whispered, blinking back tears. It was the final proof. This was the scarf that she had loved so much, that she never found while looking through the attic, that she had wrapped herself up in a hundred times.

“Are you alright dear?” River asked. She waited for a moment before putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Charlie?”

“I remember the faces,” Charlie said, looking up at the woman. “When it all stopped, I remembered. The uncle with the funny accent was Jack. The woman – I called her my mother – she was you, wasn’t she?”

Charlie looked up for some sort of confirmation from the woman. River smiled and nodded, tears in her eyes.

“Yes, that was me sweetie.”

“And the man with the ridiculous scarf,” Charlie said, holding it up. “That was the Doctor. The two of you. Are you. . . ?” she drifted off, not daring herself to finish the sentence.

River nodded quickly, unable to stop her tears as she laughed. “Yes, we are dear. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you, but it was too soon and then Alistair –”

“You didn’t want me,” Charlie cut off, looking down. “You gave me away. That I could forgive, but then you stopped visiting. Why?” she begged for an answer. She had been hurt and lied to too much by people she loved.

River wrapped her daughter in a hug, kissing the top of her blonde curls. “We had to stop. I can’t tell you why right now, but you’ll find out. As for giving you up,” She pulled away and held the teen’s face. “We love you so much. But we could never give you a proper childhood. We had to give you away. We didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Charlie nodded slightly, calming her sobs and smiling slightly. “So, you really are his wife, huh? Amy’s going to have a field day when she finds out.”

“You have no idea,” River chuckled. “You can’t tell the Doctor though, he doesn’t know.”

“Alright Mum,” Charlie replied, seeing how the word felt. It was worth the smile on River’s face.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had gone with Jack to the monitor, reviewing Charlie’s statistics the TARDIS had retrieved for him.

“How was she?” Jack asked, leaning on the console. This was it. This was when they found out. The Doctor shrugged, tying something on the typewriter.

“Take a guess,” he replied, glancing over at the man. “She was in extreme pain for a hundred and twenty minutes. I’m surprised she’s walking.”

“Must be in her genes,” Jack mused, giving a slight smile. “She’s a tough girl. Just take it easy for a while, let her rest.”

“Of course, I’m not going to put her though anymore pain,” the Doctor replied, turning his attention to the monitor again. Alistair had been teasing him about something. Something that he didn’t know that everyone else did.

“That’s good,” Jack said, but the Doctor wasn’t listening anymore.

The situation was impossible. Charlie’s statistics. . . the TARDIS had to have made a mistake somewhere. He looked to Jack, showing him the monitor.

“Jack, what did you do?”

“I did nothing,” Jack replied, smiling at the man. “I’m not related to her, not by blood. Her parents named me her uncle.”

“But I’m – she’s,” the Doctor stuttered, glancing at the monitor again. “She’s my daughter?”

“Took you long enough,” Charlie said, walking towards the two men. River had gone to fetch the girls in the kitchen, only to find that they were listening from where they were.

She held up the scarf and grinned. “I remembered.”

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck before fidgeting with his bowtie. How long had it been since he was a father? It was so long ago, he wasn’t sure that he could handle the teenage years again. Both the TARDIS and her memory couldn’t be wrong.

He was her father. He had abandoned her. He had almost seen her jump.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, looking up at her. He had messed up in so many ways. He should have been there for her instead of travelling around the universe. “Can you forgive me?”

Charlie smiled and gave him a hug. “Yeah, I can.”

A chorus of ‘aww’s had erupted, not only from Amy and Isabelle, but Jack as well, who quickly looked away. Isabelle had pulled out her phone and took a picture.

“So, what do I call you now?” Charlie asked when they pulled apart. The Doctor shrugged, ruffling her hair.

“Whatever you like I suppose,” the Doctor replied, tapping the monitor. “Looks like your mother is still missing.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said, shrugging. “We’ll find her Dad.”

The Doctor would never admit how much his hearts leapt and ached hearing that word. He finally understood why the TARDIS had landed herself that day. She was bringing him to his family.


	21. Chapter 21

Charlie squeezed herself into one of the cubbies on the upper floor of the library, balancing a copy of _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ on her knees. After everything that had gone on today, all she wanted to do was have some time to relax; ceasing to exist did that to a person. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory had all gone to stop an Egyptian goddess that was loose on some version of the Orient Express. She had declined the offer of joining them and had ended up here.

Rory. Having him back was wonderful. Charlie didn’t expect to find him as a Roman though. Or a robot, but life was funny like that. The TARDIS exploded, fixing the cracks and sealing the Doctor on the other side. Because of that, Charlie had never been born and therefore, didn’t exist in that universe.

She had never been more thankful for Amy’s fantastic memory. The Scot had literally thought her back into existence. Just to witness her father’s horrific dancing at the wedding. Charlie wished she could erase that memory.

Her father. That was a fun thing to explain to Rory. He had thought they were all pulling an elaborate joke on him. It was only after Amy helped him remember her that he realized that they were telling the truth. Otherwise Charlie would exist without them remembering her.

_“Seriously though, the Doctor had a kid?” Rory asked for the billionth time. Amy groaned and the Doctor rolled his eyes. Charlie just took a bite of her cake – it had been amusing the first few times._

_“I’m right here! Yes Rory, he’s my Dad,” Charlie answered for the exasperated adults. “And yes, I am a Timelord,” she added quickly, noticing that he was about to ask another question._

_“Is there anything else I should know?” the man asked, seeming a bit overwhelmed. “Did one of you got turned into a robot or met Robin Hood. Maybe grew a second head for a while.”_

_“No robots and no Robin Hood,” Amy said, pecking her husband’s cheek. “You’re all caught up.”_

_“I fought a gryphon,” Charlie added, taking another bite of the cake._

_“She sure did! My clever little girl,” the Doctor beamed, ruffling her hair. Charlie swatted his hand and Rory looked as if he was about to faint._

_“Anything else?”_

_“Charlie also managed to get shot,” Amy said, which made poor Rory actually faint. It took several minutes to rouse him, but no one at the reception had noticed._

It had been a confusing twenty-four hours. Being sixteen was more difficult than she thought it’d be. And it had only been a week and a half.

“Charlie! We’re back,” Rory called, walking into the library. He glanced around, unable to see her. “We brought cupcakes, so hurry to the kitchen if you want one!”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Charlie called back, marking her page and emerging from her hiding spot. She snagged a blue-frosted cupcake and was about to take a bite before it was snatched away from her.

“Have you had dinner yet?” Amy asked, raising an eyebrow. The teen sighed.

“Yes, I did Amy,” she replied, crossing her arms. “Can I have the cupcake now?”

“Eating sweets at the wedding doesn’t count,” she said, ignoring her question. “Now, did you have dinner?”

“No,” she mumbled, looking at her shoes.

“Oh come on Amy, let her have a cupcake,” Rory said, leaning against the counter. “It’s just one.”

The Doctor grabbed another cupcake while the couple was talking and handed it to the teen. She pointedly took a huge bite out of it and sat down beside her father.

“Doctor, she’s going to get sick like that,” Amy protested, but gave up when she knew he wasn’t listening. “Why do I even try?”

Rory moved from the counter to wrap his arms around his wife – he really loved that word – and pecked her cheek. “Because you are amazingly caring.”

“Oh shut up,” Amy smiled, blushing. The Doctor covered Charlie’s eyes, shooting the two a pointed look.

“There’s a child in here! Go get a room you two,” he said. The teen rolled her eyes.

“Dad, I’m not a child. I’m sixteen!”

“You’re practically a toddler! Wait until you’re at least two hundred, then we’ll talk.”

The couple took their chance to sneak away. Charlie and the Doctor didn’t even notice until they were already gone. Charlie polished off the cupcake before heading to the fridge and heating up some leftovers from the night before.

“Big day today, huh?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. The teen shrugged in response, grabbing her steaming plate from the microwave.

“I guess so. Amy and Rory finally got married and the cracks in the universe are finally gone,” she said, sitting across from him and poking her pasta. “Lots of things happening. Two universes, plastic Rory. Fun stuff.”

The Doctor watched her carefully, waiting for some sign that she was still angry at him. Charlie looked up at him and slurped her spaghetti before asking “what?”

“I left you to cease existing. Aren’t you mad?” he questioned, noticing his daughter’s face change from confusion to a carefully crafted mask of indifference.

Charlie shrugged, focusing on her food. “You had to take care of the universe. Besides, you can’t be angry if you don’t exist. I’m fine, really. Might have some abandonment issues forming, but I’m fine.”

The Timelord sighed and ran a hand down his face. “I’m truly sorry Charlie. I don’t know why I did that to you in the future and I promise I won’t make you not exist again.”

She simply nodded, getting up to wash her plate. “How are you feeling?” the Doctor asked. The teen shrugged again, drying the dishes before turning to face him.

“I don’t sleep as much as I used to,” Charlie replied, slouching against the counter. “I try to, out of habit, but I’ll sleep for an hour before I’m up again. Took some books out of the library, finished them in one sitting.” She bit her lip, trying to find the words she was looking for. “It’s strange, but I’m adapting to being Gallifreyan.”

“Timelord. Call yourself a Timelord,” the Doctor corrected, frowning slightly. “While you aren’t wrong you should use the more accurate term.”

“I never graduated from the Academy Dad,” Charlie replied, furrowing her brows. “I can’t call myself that if I don’t know anything.”

“I’ll teach you,” he replied. “And you can look through the library, everything you’ll ever need to know. There’s no Academy so it will have to do.” He walked over and enveloped the confused teen in a hug. “Never think of yourself as anything less, alright?”

“Okay? Sure Dad,” Charlie replied, still baffled by his behaviour. He let her go and started walking away. When she didn’t join him, he turned around and raised an eyebrow.

“Are you going to come and learn about TARDIS repair or not?”

“Seriously?” she asked, brightening up. “Do I get to fly her after?”

The Doctor chuckled ruffling her blonde curls. “Not right now, but soon. Once you’ve learned what everything does.”

**. . .**

She couldn’t sleep.

Charlie sighed and kicked off her covers, slipping her feet into her plush slippers and making her way to the kitchen. A cup of tea sounded soothing at the moment. Her nightmares had been getting worse, more vivid. Just yesterday she had taken a nap – while the Doctor dropped Amy and Rory off for their honeymoon – and woke up to her arm burning as if it was on fire.

Being the wonderful daughter she was, Charlie hadn’t breathed a word of it to her father, or her fellow companions. Did she still count as a companion? She had the sneaking suspicion that it was Alistair again, but that had been ages ago, when she still didn’t know that she was a Timelord. She could remember their ‘meetings’ now, if they could be called that.

Her head hurt.

Stumbling to the kitchen she managed to make herself a cup of tea and began her trek back to her room. The TARDIS was eerily quiet tonight; there was usually something going on courtesy of her father, or the TARDIS machinery would at least be humming in that comforting way she had grown accustomed to.

“Dad?” Charlie called, poking her head into the hallway. There was no reply. Checking under the console was fruitless. Her breathing hitched for a moment. Where was everyone?

“Amy? Rory?!” the teen yelled, her heartbeats speeding up. Charlie took a breath, trying to calm herself down. It was entirely plausible that the adults had gone to celebrate or were off on another adventure and didn’t want to bother her.

Yes, that had to be it. “They would have left a note though,” she said out loud without realizing it. Something was very, very wrong.

Pain erupted from deep inside her chest and she gasped, one hand clutching her heart and the other clawing for something to help her stay standing. Charlie faintly registered the teacup smashing, the contents seeping through her pajama bottoms at the knee.

“Did you really think I forgot about you?”

Charlie raised her head, attempting to push down the throbbing pain the simple action caused, and looked up at the man she was starting to hate more than anyone. Alistair smirked, shoving her with the end of his walking stick.

“It seems that the Doctor’s done as he was told for once.”

“What do you want? Where is everyone?” Charlie growled, thought it came out more as a groan. Everything hurt and she was more vulnerable than ever without a single ally around. She felt a hand grip her bicep and yank her up and found that she didn’t have the energy to fight back.

Alistair shoved the teen away from him, watching her stumble and regain her balance by leaning against the corridor wall. “I want to make your father suffer. As for your other question, you should have the answer to that. We are in your head after all.”

“If we’re in my head then why are you still here?” Charlie countered, trying to fight through the haze of pain to collect her thoughts enough to make a plan.

“Because I am in control,” Alistair answered, as if bored with her already. “Like every other meeting.  And no, you cannot get out of here by yourself. Not until I let you to,” he said, as if reading her mind. Which was a plausible answer in this situation.

“I am not going to stay here any longer,” Charlie hissed, stumbling out of the hall and into the console room where Alistair was waiting, leaning against the ship. “Get off of her!”

“It’s just a ship. Not even a real ship, just your memory of it,” Alistair said, whacking the console with his cane. “Now, I’m just here to talk.”

“Unfortunately, I’m suddenly feeling too tired to talk Isherwood,” Charlie said, standing tall. Alistair rolled his eyes and the teen doubled over in pain, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes. Being set on fire would be a relief compared to this.

“Then you’ll just have to transport a message for me,” Alistair shrugged, twirling his cane. Before Charlie knew what was happening, the man grabbed her shoulder and a knife was piercing her abdomen.

“Tell your father that when we meet next, we will take what he took from us. And you will be our tool to do it.” Charlie didn’t get the chance to come up with a retort before the man twisted the knife and she screamed, the world getting fuzzier and fuzzier before going black.

**. . .**

The Doctor ran down the hall towards the source of the scream. He barely registered Amy and Rory stumbling out of their room, doing the same thing. He flung open the door to find the teen sitting up in her bed, doubled over and clutching her stomach.

He enveloped the teen in a hug, paying close attention to the way she was clutching his shirt, which got steadily wetter with each passing moment. “Shh, it’s alright. It was just a nightmare,” the Doctor whispered, stroking her hair.

Rory seemed to have disappeared for the moment, but Amy walked over to the two, sitting on the other side of Charlie’s bed and rubbing circles on her back. “It’s over now Charlie, don’t worry. We’re here and nothing’s going to happen to you.”

Charlie just shook her head, burying her face in her father’s shirt. “It’s not going to be okay Amy. It’s never going to be okay,” she hiccupped, not bothering to hide her sobs.

“We can discuss that after you have a cup of tea,” Rory said, walking into the room with a steaming mug. “Nurse’s orders. Drink up,” he said softly with a smile, holding the cup out to the teen. Charlie moved to take it, the Doctor’s arm slung around her shoulders protectively.

“Thanks Rory,” Charlie said in between sips. The tea managed to calm her down enough to tell them everything; from her previous nightmares with Alistair to the most current.  

“He won’t hurt you,” Amy growled, looking to the two men. “We won’t let him within five hundred feet of you, let alone close enough to get to you.”

Rory nodded his agreement, squeezing the teen’s hand. “It was just a nightmare. You’re safe here, with us. Right Doctor?”

“Yes, of course,” he said too quickly. A million thoughts were running through his head, but the sheer fury of them both scared him and made him want to carry them all out. Charlie looked up at him and he smiled, kissing her forehead. There would be other times to worry about himself – for now, he had a responsibility to worry about the teen whose eyes were red and puffy from crying, who was terrified and rightly so.  

“We will never let anything happen to you,” the Doctor assured, which seemed to be enough for the teen. She nodded and rested her chin on her knees.

“Can I stay up?” she asked, looking at the adults. “I suddenly don’t feel tired anymore.”

“Why don’t we all go watch a movie together?” Amy suggested, glancing at the clock on Charlie’s bedside. “We’ve all had enough sleep anyways.”

“I’ll go make us some popcorn,” Rory said, squeezing the teen’s shoulder once before heading to the kitchen. Amy followed soon afterwards to make some cocoa.

“Let’s grab some blankets and head to the theater, yeah?” the Doctor smiled, looking down at Charlie. She nodded, getting up.

“Yeah. That sounds nice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally all caught up!


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is not what it seems.

The teen groaned as her alarm went off. She blindly reached around to slam the snooze button. Charlie cracked open an eye to check the time and turned over in her bed. Six in the morning was too early to wake up – it wasn’t like she had to go to school or anything. That only reminded her that she had to schedule some vacation time from her school while she travelled with the Doctor.

Charlie managed to get another half hour of sleep before the alarm went off again and someone was throwing open the curtains. A groan escaped her lips as she attempted to tug the comforter over her head. Whoever entered her room had thwarted her plan, yanking the comforter out of her reach.

“Come on, you can’t spend all day in bed. There’s so much to do!”

So the Doctor had broken into her room. The teen just grunted in reply, throwing an arm over her eyes. “’S too e’rly,” she slurred in protest, trying to get the man to leave. She heard footsteps approaching her bed.

“Charlotte Smith, don’t make me dump water on you,” he warned. Charlie waved a hand in reply, her mind too fogged by sleep to think of a response.

“Five more minutes Dad, please,” Charlie grumbled, snuggling into the mattress. She heard him sigh in submission and walk back out the door. Pleased with herself, Charlie allowed herself to be lulled into a half-sleep.

“Rise and shine honey!”

Charlie yelped as she was torn from her bed and thrown over her father’s shoulder. “Dad, what’re you doing?!” she yelled, banging a fist on his back. The Doctor laughed in reply before dumping the teen in the tub. Her nerves were on fire as she registered the ice-cold water seeping into her skin. Charlie could feel her bones freezing as she glared at her dad from underneath soppy curls.

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t,” the Doctor smirked knowingly before glancing at his watch. “Better hurry and get dressed, breakfast will be ready in ten.”

The teen hauled herself out of the tub and noticed that the man had left her a fluffy purple bathrobe. She slipped it on gratefully after ridding herself of her now-soaked pajamas. Ten minutes later Charlie was fully dressed and fixing her hair in the mirror. The curtains were left open, revealing perfectly ordinary things.

Charlie frowned to herself a bit when she caught sight of the window. There was something off, something wrong but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Shaking her head, she abandoned her room and headed down to the kitchen.

“Morning sweetie,” River exclaimed, pressing a kiss to the top of the teen’s head. Charlie grunted in reply, grabbing some chocolate-chip pancakes and a plate as she walked by. She settled herself at the table, sitting across from her father.

He took a sip of his tea and smiled over the newspaper. “Looks like someone’s wide awake,” he chuckled, getting him a glare in response.

“Yeah, getting dumped in ice cold water will do that to a person,” Charlie mumbled. River turned away from the stove to raise an eyebrow at her husband.

“You did _what_?”

“Nothing dear,” the Doctor said, using all his willpower to not look at his wife. River put both her hands on her hips, spatula dangling from her hand.

“Doctor John Smith, what did you do to our daughter?” the woman questioned as the man beneath her gaze began shuffling.

“Imayhavedumpedherinthetub,” he rushed, mumbling under his breath.

Charlie smirked at her pancakes, tuning out her parents’ bickering. She had gotten used to it after sixteen years. That strange feeling was back, leaving a sick taste in her mouth. What was that whole Doctor John Smith thing about? Didn’t her mum know that it was just the Doctor, who may or may not have a PhD or MD at all? He never mentioned anything like university.

Brows furrowed, her fork was returned to the plate as she thought. That couldn’t be right; of course her father had earned the title. He was a doctor down at the children’s hospital. Of course he had gone to university; he went with Uncle Jack, where they met Aunt Amy and Uncle Rory, who introduced him to Mum. She had heard the story a million times.

“Are you okay sweetie? You look sick,” River commented, pressing a hand to her forehead. Charlie blinked once and smiled.

“Yeah I’m fine Mum,” the teen replied, picking up her fork again. When had she put it down? “I’m still a bit tired, that’s all.” Her father had the decency to look sheepish.

River hummed in a way that told Charlie she didn’t entirely believe her. “I suppose you can stay home from school since it’s a Friday,” she said, sipping her coffee. “I have to teach a few morning classes at the University and I don’t want to leave you home alone if you don’t feel well.”

“I’ll get Tennant to cover my shift, he owes me one,” Doctor Smith spoke up. “Well, more like ten. It’ll give me some time to spend with my little girl,” he added, ruffling Charlie’s hair as he said this. She swatted his hand away good-naturedly in return.

“That settles it then,” River said before glancing at the time. “I better get going. Both of you take care.” River pressed a kiss to Charlie’s curls and her father’s cheek before gathering her papers and leaving the house.

The Doctor – her _father_ ; why did she keep doing that? – leaned back in his chair, watching his daughter as she pushed the remains of her breakfast around the plate.

“What would you like to do today kiddo?” he asked. Charlie shrugged, pushing away her plate and meeting his eyes.

“I was just going to lie down for a bit,” Charlie replied, getting up to deal with her plate. She didn’t see the man’s shoulder’s sag.

“Oh. That sounds best, especially since you don’t feel well,” John Smith – no, the Doctor – replied.

Charlie practically ran to her room and slammed the door. She leaned against it, massaging her temples to try to ward away the developing headache. What was wrong with her today? She usually loved breakfasts together – they rarely even had breakfast with the morning rush – and she never missed an opportunity to spend time with her father. Did she?

Just thinking about her father gave her a headache. Charlie walked to the window and undid the latch, letting in the fresh air. The view was beautiful – she could see the entire park from here, as well as a sliver of the lake behind the trees. It was . . . wrong.

This wasn’t supposed to be the view from her window. In her mind’s eye, Charlie could see a vast ocean, churning waves reflecting a sky that resembled a pink and purple nebula, several moons constantly moving within it. A word kept nagging at the back of her head: Kandalath.

“What kind of word it that?” Charlie muttered to the world. Shaking her head the teen moved away from the window and crawled into bed. She might as well try and get a few hours of sleep and hopefully get rid of that sick feeling.

She emerged from her room two hours later, having gotten not a single wink of sleep. The wrongness was gnawing at her, along with something else. Fear? What did she have to fear in the suburbs? Nothing, that’s what. Nothing at all.

Her feet led her to the family room, where her father was looking over some papers. A pair of glasses were perched on his nose and Charlie had the overwhelming urge to knock them off his face. He glanced up when Charlie shuffled into the room.

“Hello dear,” Smith said, putting down whatever he was working on. Charlie didn’t speak, grabbing the afghan that was draped over an armchair and curling up at his side. He was caught by surprise, but happily draped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her golden curls.

“Didn’t sleep well?” he asked. The teen shook her head.

“Not at all. Counted all the dots on my ceiling though.”

The man chuckled in response. “Want to watch a movie?”

“That sound nice,” Charlie agreed, making no movement to grab the remote. “Can we watch _Order of the Phoenix_?”

“Of course.”

Ten minutes later and the scent of popcorn and hot chocolate filled the home as John Smith settled back onto the couch. Charlie reclaimed her spot beside her father and pressed play.

River came home to the sight of her daughter and husband asleep on the couch and smiled. The sight of them was perfect.

Too perfect.

**. . .**

_She couldn’t breathe; it felt like someone was holding her head underwater. Her lungs burned as they begged for air but Charlie couldn’t open her mouth or she would drown. Her bypass system could only hold out for so long._

_Then a warbled order, distorted by the fluid around her. “Let her up.”_

_Her head was wrenched up and air – wonderful, miraculous air! – was gulped into her lungs greedily. She spluttered and coughed for a few minutes before looking around the dim-lit room. She could make out figures, silhouettes, but nothing more._

_“Tell us where they are,” a voice growled._

_“I don’t know.” Her voice wobbled and she hated herself for it. How many times did she have to say that before they finally understood?_

_“Put her underwater again.”_

_She refused to beg, filling her lungs as much as she could before she was under once again._

**. . .**

“I can’t believe he gave me a C!” Isabelle shouted on their walk home. Her hands were all over the place, turning some heads as they walked by.

“I know. I mean, Ethan got a B and he half-assed the essay,” Charlie agreed, pulling her coat tighter around herself. “Maybe you could try talking to Mr. Matthews about it?”

Isabelle shot her a look and shook her head, her black hair bouncing with the action. When Isabelle wore her hair natural, it rivalled Charlie’s own unruly mop of curls.

“You know he hates me,” Isabelle sighed, sticking her hands in her pockets. “I guess I could request to switch classes, but the semester will be done soon, so what’s the point?”

“You wouldn’t have to deal with a racist jerk, that’s the point – hey!” Charlie called out to the retreating back of the figure who bumped into her. “Could’ve at least said sorry,” she muttered.

“No manners. Anyways, do you want to meet up tomorrow to work on that lab write-up?”

“Sure. I don’t think my parents would mind,” the blonde answered. A flash of blue caught her eye and Charlie furrowed her brows. “Hey Isabelle, what’s up with the police call box?”

“Hmm? Oh. Someone probably dragged it out as a joke or something,” Isabelle shrugged. “It’ll be gone soon enough.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said, turning away. The feeling from yesterday had returned, ten times worse. Something was tugging at the back of her head, as if a string was trying to yank something loose.

_“Charlie, see that blue box over there?” He asked, pointing to it. The girl nodded, wondering why such a thing was in her yard and how she hadn’t notice it before._

_“Well, it’s my TARDIS – Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. She’s my ship. She can go through space and time. Anytime, and anyplace. Understand?” The girl nodded, looking at the ship with a hint of awe._

_“Can she really Doctor?” She asked, looking back at him. He smiled fondly and nodded._

_“Yes, she can,” The Timelord confirmed._

Charlie shook her head and was greeted by the sight of her home. “See you tomorrow Izzy,” she said before heading up the driveway. “I’m home!” she called, hanging up her coat.

“In the living room!” Her lips curved upwards, recognizing the Scottish drawl. Heading to the source of the voice, she wasn’t disappointed.

“Hey Amy, Rory,” Charlie smiled, giving them each a hug.

“I swear you’re getting taller every time we see you,” Amy commented, turning the teen’s head by the chin.

“Maybe you should move to London so you can see me more often,” Charlie suggested, trying to suppress her smirk.

“Actually, that’s what we came here to talk about,” Rory started. “I’ve gotten a job here so we’ll be moving to London in about a week.”

“Congratulations Rory!” her father exclaimed, giving the man a hug and a slap on the back. River was talking excitedly with Amy. Charlie sneaked off to the kitchen to make some tea. She didn’t notice anyone join her until someone was yanking her around by the arm.

“Dad?” she asked, caught off guard. “What are you wearing?” He was clad in a tweed jacket – with elbow patches – and a bright purple bowtie. He looked more like the professors at her mother’s job than a doctor.

“Not important,” her father replied, waving his hand. “Listen to me Charlie,” he grabbed her shoulders, staring her in the eye, “you have to wake up. I know it’s hard, but you have to try. Fight it.”

“Fight what?”

“Sweetie, are you hungry?” River asked, walking into the kitchen. Charlie turned to her instinctively and when she turned back, the professor guy was gone. Was he even ever there?

“Charlie, are you alright dear?”

“Hmm? Yeah Mum, just thinking. Can we order pizza?”

**. . .**

_“Where are they?!” the man yelled, slamming his hand down on the table. Charlie was the only one who flinched._

_“I don’t know!” she shouted back, trying to calm herself before she started crying. “Please, stop this.”_

_“Why?_

_“Because you’re scaring me!”_

_One of the figures, a man wearing a trench coat, turned to the man. “Maybe we should. I mean, this thing doesn’t know anything about where Cha –”_

_“It’s lying,” the other cut across, pacing the room. Charlie watched the man carefully, scooting backwards in her chair. “Where are you keeping her?”_

_“I’m not lying, I’m right here,” she said before shutting her mouth quickly.  The damage was done though. The man kicked a chair away._

_“You are not my daughter!”_


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know it's been a while between updates – not the longest – but still pretty bad. I've been stressed, I went off my meds for depression against my doctor's judgement and everything just became a downward spiral. I'm still not myself yet, so sorry if this chapter isn't the best. I'm just really not in the best place right now mentally.

The Doctor stormed out of the room after his outburst; no one tried to stop him. The others seemed to understand that he needed his time alone since there were no footsteps hurrying behind him. Just silence. Flinging open the TARDIS doors he marched up to the console and collapsed onto a chair.

He let the silence consume him as he hung his head. How had he let everything go so wrong? He was given the chance to be a father again, to take care of this teenager who trusted him despite knowing it wasn't always the best thing to do, and he messed it all up.

"I am so, so sorry," the Doctor whispered. "I am so terribly sorry my little girl." His voice cracked as he buried his head in his hands.

The day had started with him teaching her how to fly the TARDIS. He didn't expect it to end with losing his daughter. . .

" _Alright then, what are these?" the Doctor asked, pointing towards something on the console. Charlie rolled her eyes and sighed._

" _Those are the breaks Dad. You've asked me that three times," she said from her spot draped on the chair. "You've asked me what everything is at least five times now."_

" _Never hurts to be sure." He tapped her nose. "Now what are you doing there? Get up! You have a TARDIS to fly!"_

_A grin broke out on the teens face as she looked up at him. "Really? I can fly her?"_

" _With my help of course."_

_The Doctor laughed as the teen sprung up, eager to impress her father. He could barely remember doing the same thing when he was that young, seeking approval from his parents. The only difference was that he would make sure that Charlie understood that he would always be proud of her. She would never need to work tirelessly for his approval. Never._

" _Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Charlie exclaimed and enveloped her father in a hug, breaking him away from his thoughts. He smiled and kissed the top of her head, holding her for just a moment longer before letting go._

" _Now, let's go see something interesting, shall we?"_

Someone walked into the TARDIS and the Doctor glanced up. Rory was making his way to the Timelord, a look of determination on his face.

"You know, it's not really your fault," the man finally said, sitting down beside him. The Doctor just shrugged, staring at his hands. Rory leaned back in his seat, content to sit with him in silence.

"What are you expecting me to do Rory?" he asked, turning to look at the centurion. Rory quirked his head for a moment, as if he wasn't quite sure of the answer.

"Nothing actually," he admitted. "I just thought you would be a moping mess if left alone. That's not going to help Charlie."

"It's my fault she's gone Rory. If I had just been watching her more carefully!" the Doctor shouted, beginning to pace once more. The other man noticed the look of fury on the Timelord's face and squared his shoulders.

"You're not the only one that cares about her Doctor. All of us were there and none of us could save her. But we're not wallowing in guilt." Rory spoke softly, which was more efficient in getting the Doctor's attention than yelling at him. "Let's find her first. Then we can feel guilty."

The Doctor sighed and nodded. "Give me some time to think. I'll be out shortly." The man responded to the request and walked out of the TARDIS, leaving the Timelord to his thoughts.

" _Time to run?" Rory asked, glancing around at the group of warriors that was headed straight for them._

" _Yes, now would be an excellent time," the Doctor replied, grabbing Charlie's hand and sprinting away, Rory and Amy on his heels._

_The next thing he remembered was running into the bazaar, jumping over tables and causing a ruckus. He dragged the gang behind a wall to catch their breaths._

" _You just had to piss off the emperor, didn't you?" Amy puffed, clutching her chest as if her lungs were going to jump out her throat. She narrowed her eyes at the Timelord, who only shrugged._

" _He was being controlled by a djinn. What did you expect me to say?"_

" _Sorry to interrupt this lovely conversation," Charlie cut between the two, "but we have more pressing matters." The teen pointed to the group of soldiers, who had caught sight of them and split up, intending to cut them off before they reached the TARDIS._

" _Stay right on my heels, understand?" the Doctor said and, without bothering for a reply, broke out into a sprint. Rory set off right after him and Amy sighed before doing the same. Charlie followed close behind, knocking down a pile of baskets to block their trail._

_The Doctor flung open the doors and sprinted into the console room. He began putting the old girl in flight as Amy and Rory ran inside._

" _Hurry up Charlie!" Rory shouted, holding out his hand for the girl. Charlie fingertips brushed Rory's hand but before he could pull her inside a man with blue skin yanked her away._

_The djinn._

" _You may have ruined my stay here, but I think I'll keep her as a prize," the man smirked as the TARDIS dematerialized and the two faded from view._

" _NO!"_

The Doctor pushed those moments out of his mind and stood. Abandoning his bowtie on the console, he walked out to join the others.

He would get answers.

**. . .**

It was a cloudy, grey sort of day. The promise of rain hung in the air, but there was something more – a buzz of electricity, like a thunderstorm was in the distance. It was Charlie's favourite type of weather, but she couldn't appreciate it today. Her mood, her whole life seemed to be thrown off balance.

Charlie knew something was definitely off. The man here wasn't her father, nor was the woman her mother. Everything was just, well, too  _perfect_  to be her life. It sounded terrible for her to talk like that, but it was true.

There had to be something more to her life than this. More than school and sleepovers and linear time. Wait – linear time? Where did that come from? Charlie groaned and flopped back onto her bed, staring holes into the ceiling.

"What's going on with me?" she sighed, throwing an arm over her eyes. She was having dreams – sometimes more vivid than her waking moments – about fighting a gryphon. It couldn't be her though; in her dream she was brave and quick-thinking, fast on her feet. That just wasn't Charlie: she was average at best and not too bright for being the child of a professor and doctor.

No one was expecting great things from her. She didn't blame them.

The door opened and Charlie was pulled out of her thoughts. "I bring offerings," River said, poking her head through the door, holding out cups of hot chocolate. Charlie smiled and sat up as her mother sat in her bed, handing her a mug.

"Thanks Mum," Charlie mumbled, taking a sip. River tucked her feet up, making herself comfortable with her daughter. She looked at the teenager – her pride and joy – for a long while before speaking.

"You've been quiet lately. Did something happen at school?"

Charlie shook her head before pausing and shrugging. "Just pondering my existence Mum. You know, being out of school in two years, figuring out my life, stuff like that." She felt bad, lying to the woman but she couldn't tell her the truth. Hell, Charlie barely knew the truth herself.

She could hear the faint sound of the front door creaking open. "Sounds like dad's home," Charlie commented. "Can we just watch some space documentary instead of going out tonight? I don't feel well."

"Of course," River smiled, kissing her forehead. "Now drink up. I didn't make enough for your father, so don't let him see."

**. . .**

"I can try and make our telepathic link stronger. That way I can communicate with her for longer than just a few minutes," the Doctor said, looking to Jack, Amy, and Rory. "Then possibly I can lock onto her location with the TARDIS."

"I've been in contact with some people who owe me favours. They haven't heard anything about a djinn with a Timelady, or any Gallifreyan DNA being sold," Jack said, running a hand through his hair. "So at least there's some good news."

"They would really sell her DNA?" Amy asked, turning to the Doctor. He simply nodded.

"Timelord anything is valuable. I'm going to see if I can reach her. You all do – whatever it is you do when I'm gone," the Doctor said, walking back into the TARDIS. The three of them looked at each other.

"Who's up for coffee?"

**. . .**

"She begged me to go out with her," Doctor John Smith said, teasing his wife. She slapped his shoulder playfully.

"More like he wouldn't stop flirting and asking me every few days," River corrected, laughing at the memory.

Charlie sat between her parents as they told stories from their college days. She buried herself in the cozy afghan while the sounds of the abandoned documentary mixed with the rumbling of thunder. They all sat in the light from the television. It made her feel like a child again.

"Did you know that I once drove my motorbike down the stairs?" her father asked. Charlie turned to him, eyes wide, and a grin on her face.

"Seriously?!" she exclaimed. Her father nodded, feeling a bit of warmth at having his daughter's full attention for the first time in weeks.

"Seriously," he repeated. "Jack and I were playing a week-long game of truth or dare with a bunch of the boys we played football with. It was my turn and Ian Chesterson dared me to ride my motorbike in the halls."

"And your father, being ever the show off decided to ride it down the stairs," River said, picking up the story. "But not before he drove through my class and handed me a dozen roses before being chased out by professor Lethbridge-Stewart."

"You used to be cool Dad," Charlie said. "Can I learn to ride a motorbike?"

"Just for that comment, you don't get to until you're thirty," he joked, ruffling her hair. "Your old man is still plenty cool."

"Yeah, sure," Charlie dragged, smirking. "If you're cool then I'm Captain Marvel."

Doctor Smith raised an eyebrow before he began a tickle attack on his daughter. "When did you become so cheeky?" Instead of helping her daughter, River decided to pull out her phone and film the entire event.

Charlie tried to answer between gasps, curling in on herself. "Dad, quit it!"

It took five minutes before Charlie rolled away from her father and got off the couch. "I'm going to make some tea because my parents are cruel," Charlie joked. She stuck out her tongue at them – the pair of them responding the same way – before skipping to the kitchen. It had been so long since she had laughed like that.

She saw the tweed jacket with elbow patches and her smile dropped.

"What do you want?" she whispered, glancing over her shoulder to make sure neither of her parents had followed her.

"I came to talk to you," the man that looked like her father – the Doctor – no, the imposter, said. "Charlie, you have to wake up. Please, that's the only way we'll find you."

"I don't even know who you are," Charlie said, narrowing her eyes. "Why do you keep showing up in my house? And why do you look like my Dad?"

The man sighed and raised his hands to touch her temples. Charlie knocked them away and raised her eyebrow at him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Showing you," he replied simply. Charlie wasn't sure what she was thinking, but as the man reached out again, she didn't jump out of the way. As soon as his fingertips brushed her temples, it all came flooding back to her.

"Dad, what's going on?" she asked, looking at the Doctor. A smile broke out on his face, knowing that she wasn't under the spell anymore. She recognized him.

"You were captured by a djinn and he seems to have put you in a coma-like state, influencing your mind to create a dream-world for you," he explained, glancing around the kitchen. "Great craftsmanship. Very realistic and such."

"But I've been here for weeks," Charlie said, waving her hand around. "How long have I been gone in real time?"

"One week," the Doctor replied. "I've been trying the entire time to strengthen our telepathic connection, but it only worked recently."

Charlie nodded slightly, sitting down at the table. "So, what do we do now?"

"We wake you up," the Doctor replied. He made a move to hug her, but ran to hide when he heard footsteps.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" River asked, rushing to her daughter. She smoothed some of the teen's hair back, noting the wrinkles between her brows – she was upset.

Charlie just shook her head and buried her face in her mother's shoulder. The teen relaxed when she felt the woman's arms wrap around her, protecting her from the world. Tears pricked her eyes, threatening to fall. She never would get the chance to have a normal life with her parents. She wasn't even sure if her father loved her mother yet; sure, they had been on dates but Charlie hadn't really seen them together enough to know.

"Charlotte, what's wrong? Did something happen at school?"

The worry in her voice did it – Charlie became a sobbing mess. "I – I'm su–su–sorry Mum," the teen hiccupped. River immediately scooped up the teen so she was sitting in her lap. Charlie held onto her mother, sobbing like a toddler who had a bad dream.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," River said softly, kissing the top of her head. "My precious baby girl, you never have to be sorry with me."

Charlie registered a set of footsteps running into the room before another pair of arms wrapped around her. She was being hugged by her fake parents, but she didn't care. For once in her life she felt loved, like she had a family of her own, that she was safe with them.

They may not be her real parents but what they had built was real.

**. . .**

"We're right down the hall if you need us," River reminded, tucking in her daughter once again. Charlie smiled and nodded.

"Alright. Goodnight Mum," she said. The woman leaned down and kissed her daughter's forehead before walking out. Her fake-dad sat on her bed, brushing hair away from her face.

"Are you sure you're alright baby girl?" he asked. The look of love in his eyes almost made Charlie burst into tears again. She swallowed the feeling and nodded.

"One can never really be sure. Thanks for the story Dad," the teen said, kissing his cheek. He gave her one last hug before walking out, shutting off the light and closing the door behind him. Charlie counted the seconds until the door opened again and the Doctor walked into the room.

"None of this is real Char-"

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," Charlie cut across, getting out of bed. "How do I wake up?"

The Doctor sighed and tossed a knife onto the bed. "It's a bit morbid, but this is a special sub-species of djinn. You have to die in the dream world. I would give you aspirin, but you're not Timelord in the dream world."

Charlie grabbed the handle and turned it over. "What do I do when I wake up?"

"Set up a connection with me. It's not going to be easy, but I know you can do it." He smiled and ruffled her hair. "My wonderful girl."

She gave him a smile. Her heart was still heavy, not wanting to leave what she had here, but she still had hope that maybe she would have the real thing someday.

"I'll see you soon Dad," Charlie smiled, plunging the knife into her abdomen.

**. . .**

"Doctor, the not-Charlie's gone!"

"How?"

"She just disappeared!

"We have no time to think about that, get in the TARDIS!"

**. . .**

Grey eyes flew open and Charlie gasped, getting as much air as she could into her lungs. IV's were stuck into her arms – presumably to keep her alive. Not caring about being gentle, Charlie yanked them out and stumbled away from the upright table she had been on.

"Okay, connection with Dad, connection with Dad," Charlie whispered to herself, walking around the room she was stuck in. it reminded her of a cross between a hospital room and a jail cell. Everything was shining, white, and there was no door that she could see.

Charlie plopped down on the floor Indian-style. "Maybe meditating will help?" she mused to herself. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on building a connection with her father. She thought of the TARDIS and when she first walked into the ship. Of when she found out who her parents were and what she was. Of that stupid bowtie that had a mysterious burn on it that neither of them could explain but he refused to replace.

The sounds of the TARDIS filled the air and a smile spread on her face.

**. . .**

"Madame Kovarian, the djinn said that the girl is gone."

Kovarian looked away from the papers on her desk to the man standing in the doorway of her office. "When did she leave?"

"Two hours ago."

"And are we sure the prophecy is about her?" Kovarian questioned. The man nodded.

"There's no one else that could fit that criteria. Everyone believes it to be her."

Kovarian nodded. "Then if this plan doesn't pan out, we have a backup. Contact Alistair Isherwood. Tell him I'd like to strike up a deal."

"Yes ma'am."

**. . .**

Charlie was snuggled up beside her father, feet dangling off the edge of the TARDIS. They sat at the doors, looking down at the Earth. "That one's Bellatrix. Part of the Orion constellation," she said, pointing it out for her father.

"You know, we could go back and see the beginning of that star if you like," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Charlie snuggled closer to him, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself.

"I'm actually fine with staying in the present right now," she said, keeping her eyes fixed on the star.

The Doctor smiled and kissed the top of her head. He had seen how much of a family they had been in the dream world. They had been ordinary, settled down. She had a loving mother – something that he couldn't quite give her just yet. Sure, he loved River and he thought that he was actually starting to trust her, but River could never live with them like that.

But Charlie was willing to wait. To stay with him and figure out how they fit, how to make their little family work. There was still so much they needed to talk about. He wanted to know all about her childhood, her favourite subject, what her favourite food was, the worst flu she ever had. He had missed everything and wanted to make up for it.

He wanted to know why she made that prophecy. Why Alistair and those Timelords wanted her. Where they were. How many of his enemies knew that he had a daughter. He wanted a sure fire way to make sure that she was safe.

For now though, he was content with a cup of tea in his hands, watching the stars with his daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, did you like it? You can follow me on Tumblr and Instagram at procrastinatingpandorin. Leave me a message, start a chat, whatever you like. It would really make my day.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So, what I've been calling the 'first installment' is coming to a close and I would like your opinions. Should I make a sequel, or just post more chapters on this story? Also, check out my profile for a list of stories coming out this summer!

Today was the same as the one before. Climbing out of bed after a whopping three hours of sleep – a personal record – the sheets dragged behind Charlie as she got ready for the day's events. Once she had rubbed the sleep from her eyes, Charlie slowly made her way to the kitchen.

Today was the same as the one before. Except she heard laughter from the kitchen. Which was strange because she swore that she was the only one on the ship, besides her father. They had dropped Amy and Rory off a few weeks ago to enjoy their married life phase.

Charlie froze, unable to turn the corner to enter the room. What if someone had broken in? Killed her father? Forgot to search the ship for others? If she had been rational she would realize that everything she just thought of was crazy. Recently though, her life had been nothing but crazy.

The teen squared her shoulders and walked into the kitchen, only to find her parents sitting there in fancy evening wear, laughing about something. For a brief moment, Charlie was petrified – was she stuck in the dream world again? She didn't think she had come into contact with a djinn again. And as much as she loved her father, stabbing herself in the gut was traumatic enough the first time around.

But when River turned her head, Charlie saw the recognition and love in her eyes.  _This_ was her mother.

"Morning Charlie. Did we wake you?"

She snapped out of her reverie and shook her head. "Nah. I just met my weekly three hours so I was bound to wake up sooner or later. Is there any breakfast?"

"Chocolate chip waffles," her father said, walking towards her with a plateful. He planted a kiss on her head. "Do you want whipped cream too?"

"Yes please," Charlie smiled, kissing her father's cheek and taking the plate to sit across from her mother. River pushed a bowl of berries toward her.

"Might as well have something healthy too," she smiled.

"Heads up!"

Charlie caught the canister of cream with practiced ease before covering her waffles in the stuff. The Doctor sat down again and filled her in on their trip to Easter Island. Apparently her father was worshipped there.

Sure, this wasn't a typical family. It definitely wasn't what she had in the dream world. But watching her father hang off of River's every word, the beginning of love in his eyes, made it all worth it.

It wasn't typical, but it was theirs.

**. . .**

Closing the door as quietly as possible – wincing as it creaked shut – Charlie tiptoed to the stairs. All she had to do was reach the sanctuary of carpeted floors and she would be home free.

"Charlotte, get over here right now!" a Scottish drawl yelled from the kitchen. A sigh escaped her lips.

"Yes Amy."

Sitting at the table with steaming cups of what she assumed was tea between their hands were Amy and Rory Williams. Jumping onto the counter, hands folded in her lap, Charlie waited for one of them to speak. She could feel someone glaring daggers at her; that was probably Amy. The last time Charlie came home at four in the morning –  _("without even leaving a note!")_  – Amy had almost called the police looking for her.

But Rory just watched her, visible bags under green puppy dog eyes. That was the look Charlie couldn't stand. Eyes full of disappointment instead of anger, running a hand down his face in exhaustion, lips pinched together in the slightest of frowns. She would much rather take Amy's anger over Rory's disappointment.

Finally, Amy opened her mouth and broke the silence. "You could have left us a note if you were going out with Isabelle or Jack. You just disappear without a trace! Not answering our calls or texts for days! We would have called the police but we had no idea what we would tell them. We're not even your legal guardians Charlie. What would we do if someone came around to take you away because we didn't know where you went?"

Rory put a hand on his wife's arm. Amy's lips pressed together in a hard line but she turned away, focusing on her tea. "Charlie, where were you?"

The teen raised her head to look at him. "Dad showed up after school and we went away for a while. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal and he said we would be back before supper. That was a few days ago, wasn't it?"

"Three," Amy spoke up, taking a sip of her tea. Charlie felt a stab of guilt when she noticed that Amy had bags under her eyes as well.

"Sorry," Charlie said, hopping off the counter. "I would have texted but, well." She reached into her pocket and put the remains of what vaguely resembled a phone onto the table. "There was an incident."

Charlie kicked at the floor lightly, waiting for someone to speak. A chair creaked and a pair of arms wrapped around her.

"Just don't scare us like that again, alright?" Amy's voice said above her. Charlie nodded and hugged her back for a moment. "Good. Now I am going to get some sleep."

Once Amy had left, Rory stood up and pointed to the fridge. "There's some supper if you want." He stood by the table while Charlie rummaged through the fridge. "How long have you been gone?"

"Sorry?"

"You've gotten a bit taller," Rory commented. "And your hair – it's longer. Looks like you dyed some of it brown and it grew out." He waved at the brown tips of her otherwise blonde curls. "So, how long has it been for you?"

"Oh." She tried to smile. "About twenty years. Give or take a bit. Figured out how to make the TARDIS keep track for me."

"Wow. Two decades then," he sighed, leaning on the counter. "Yet you barely look any older. Time lord thing?" Charlie nodded. "What have you been doing all that time?"

"Running mostly," Charlie shrugged, heating the plate. "Dad's been teaching me stuff that he learned when he was younger and just catching up on stuff. It's been great."

Rory watched her for a long moment and Charlie got nervous. He had that look on his face – the 'are you sure about this' look.

"Just remember that you have a life here too Charlie. While it's great you're having fun, there are people that care about you and a safe life for a teenager here." He kissed the top of her head before walking away.

Charlie let her head fall back against the fridge. She barely registered the microwave's shrill beeping, signalling her food was ready. She was aware that her life wasn't one of a typical sixteen – thirty-six? – year old girl. It may not be the most child-friendly, heck it was nowhere near as safe as the suburbs, but the Doctor would watch her back.

Right?

**. . .**

"Come on, Katie's totally crushing on you!" Isabelle said as they walked away from the bus stop. Charlie had been waving at a girl with short black hair dyed red - Katherine. She glared at her friend as the bus pulled away before looking at the ground.

"You're crazy."

"And you're blind. You like her too, don't you?" Isabelle teased, noticing her friend's blush. "You do!"

"Possibly," Charlie mumbled, her face becoming more violently red. She envied Isabelle's dark skin and its blush-covering abilities for a moment. "Shut your face," she groaned, shoving Isabelle as she laughed harder.

"You should ask her out. I mean, Katie likes you and you like her," Isabelle reasoned, shrugging. "And it looks like neither one of you is going to make the first move."

"Just give me some time 'kay?"

Isabelle nodded. Bumping Charlie's shoulder, she threw her a wink and a dazzling smile. "Don't worry mate. Just let me know so Amy and I can take you shopping."

"Yeah, alright," Charlie grinned. They turned the corner and noticed a very familiar blue box.

"Looks like you're heading out again," Isabelle mused. "Text me, will you?"

"Definitely. Got a new phone so we're good." Charlie gave her friend a brief hug and jogged towards the TARDIS, unlocking the doors with her key.

"There's my little girl!" the Doctor called from his spot under the console. Tossing her coat and tie on the rack, Charlie went to sit by her father. "Could you pass me that dear?"

"So, I got my physics test back," Charlie said, handing him tools when he asked. "I got a ninety-seven. And I met this girl – Katherine – in the last month and a half. She seems nice."

The Doctor bumped his head in his rush to sit up. "That's nice. Are you blushing?" He poked her cheek, leaving a spot of grease on it. She scoffed, waving his hand away.

"What? No! You're blushing," she shot back.

He chuckled, wiping away the smudge with a rag. "Well, I suppose you're old enough for dating. In thirty years that is."

"That's not fair Dad," Charlie whined. The Doctor just wiped his hands and shrugged.

"Fine. But I have to meet them and approve. Deal?"

She sighed and shook his hand. "Just don't embarrass me, okay?"

"Cross my hearts," he smiled, crossing his hearts as he spoke. "Now, how do you feel about ancient Egypt?"

**. . .**

"Alright, let me get this straight; we're stowaways on a cargo ship with a gift from Marc Antony to Cleopatra that wants to kill her?" Charlie looked at her father, eyebrow raised. "And your plan was to land your extremely loud ship onto it."

"I didn't think it all the way through," the Doctor replied, turning his head in an attempt to look at the girl. They were both tied to the mast of the ship as the crew discussed their fate. Charlie let her head fall back against the wood.

"Brilliant. Why is it trying to kill her?"

"It thinks that she's the Empress of the Altari. It crash-landed here – that's the blur I noticed from the TARDIS."

Charlie tensed when one of the crew members began untying her. "Um, Dad? Should I be concerned?" She turned only to see the same happening to the Doctor. Several shoves to the back made her stumble to the edge.

They were going to be thrown overboard. . .

"And then the Gold Assassin woke up and started fighting with the Romans," Charlie talked animatedly, waving her hands around. Amy and Rory had invited Jack and River – who came to visit him – to a new restaurant that had opened nearby.

"So there we were, Romans being tossed everywhere. Dad tried to sonic it, but the gold was protecting the circuits too well – probably something mixed in with the metal. So we just took this basket full of mercury – it was supposed to be for Cleopatra's makeup – and dumped it on him. The gold started dissolving and Dad messed with the circuits so it was rendered useless."

"Sounds like you've been pretty busy since I last saw you," Jack said, taking a sip of wine. "How is your dad anyways?"

"He's been busy. Doing good though," Charlie said, taking the chance to actually eat some of the food in front of her.

They went around the table that night, sharing the new developments in their lives. It seemed so domestic for the companions – something that you just couldn't have while travelling with the Doctor. While Jack was telling Amy and Rory about what the Doctor's previous incarnation was like, Charlie decided to catch up with her mother.

"What have you been up to lately?" she asked the older woman. She just winked.

"Spoilers sweetie. Though I did just spend a lovely breakfast with you recently," River smiled. "How's school been?"

"Alright I guess," Charlie shrugged. "I mean, I'm doing okay and everything, but it's just so boring. I thought eleventh grade would be more entertaining, you know?"

"Nothing is entertaining after you've travelled with him," her mother said with a shake of her head. "You're hooked on it aren't you? It's alright, I am too."

"Yeah. I mean, there's just so much to do and see!"

River laughed and Charlie swelled with pride; she made her mother laugh for the first time since the djinn dream. "There really is. And it helps when you love him." She tucked some of Charlie's hair behind her ear. "Travelling with the Doctor is great. Just remember to live your life here too, okay? They're both equally wonderful."

She gave her mom a smile. "Sure, I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." She squeezed her hand under the table since Amy and Rory were there.

Life was good.

**. . .**

"Just take her to a Beatles concert or something," Charlie said, flipping through a book on her father's bed. Meanwhile, the Doctor was rummaging through his closet for something 'date appropriate.'

"But what if she doesn't like the Beatles?!" the Doctor shouted from the depths of the closet.

"I'm sure she'll love anything you do together. Try karaoke then. Everyone loves karaoke," she said, glancing up to see her father holding two suits. "I don't like either of them. You need something more colour coordinated."

"What's wrong with these?"

"The colours are making my eyes hurt. Elton John can pull something like those off, not you Dad," Charlie said, turning back to her book.

"Funnily enough, I borrowed these from Elton," the Doctor said. Flopping backwards onto the bed, he sighed, giving up. "I'm never going to be ready."

"You must really like River, huh?" Charlie smirked, poking her father's cheek. His usual state before dates was really starting to amuse her.

He bolted upright, failing to hide the blush on his cheeks. "What? No! Shut up," he mumbled, shoving his laughing daughter backwards.

"Relax Dad. I'll find you an outfit."

Charlie was waving her parents out of the TARDIS half an hour later. "Don't stay out too late you crazy kids!" she grinned. She managed to get her father to wear a plain black suit with a colourful bowtie.

"Get the TARDIS to call me if you need anything!" the Doctor called over his shoulder. Charlie smiled as he offered River his arm. Slamming the door shut, she let out a huge breath.

"Finally!"

Grabbing some popcorn Charlie headed off to the theatre to watch  _Psycho._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyways, review, favourite, and follow! You can follow me on both tumblr and Instagram procrastinatingpandorin.
> 
> P.S – For those of you wondering, I am doing better. Thank you so much for your support and well wishes. It means a lot.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some news for you guys. This story will be wrapping up soon and I can guarantee you'll get a sequel if you let me know you want one.
> 
> Something you should know: this chapter is split into two and the first scene of this chapter is actually the last one to happen in both of them. Hopefully it'll make sense once you read it.
> 
> Quick disclaimer and then I'm done: a scene of this was actually taken from the short Rain Gods. If you haven't seen it, you totally should.

Charlie groaned while the doorbell was being abused. There was some sort of curse placed on her to never have a decent sleep, she was sure of it. She shoved a pillow over her head, trying to block out the damn bell. Who shows up at six on a Saturday? Jack said that he wouldn't be able to visit for a while and Amy and Rory were off for a romantic weekend. Isabelle was stuck babysitting her cousins so she had no idea who could be bugging her at this hour. Maybe it was Mrs. Samuels from down the street checking up on her.

"If I get killed by an axe murderer Amy will never leave my side ever," Charlie muttered, stomping down the stairs. "It's six in the bloody morning," she grumbled while swinging the door open.

"Hello Charlie. Mind if I come in for a bit?" the Doctor asked, looking into the house. Charlie just stood there, staring at him. "Do I have something on my face?" He asked, reaching up to wipe away whatever was drawing her attention.

"What? Oh, no," Charlie said, heading to the kitchen. "Amy and Rory aren't home right now."

"I had a suspicion," he replied, walking in after her. "I just wanted to drop by, see how you were doing." He played around with the tea kettle while the teen fished around the cupboards for some cereal. She watched as her father fiddled with the dishes she had left out on the counter last night. There was something on his mind.

"How long has it been for you?" she asked, leaning against the counter. He just shrugged and pointed to the box on the top shelf, as if asking her permission to grab it for her.

"It's been about sixty years," he said, grabbing the box and setting it down beside her. "I've been caught up in plans and stuff." He leaned against the counter beside her but kept his gaze fixed on the wall.

"I would've loved to be dragged to help you with plans and stuff you know," Charlie said with a playful smile, bumping his shoulder. He smiled sadly, kissing the top of her head.

"I know dear. But this was too dangerous for you to tag along for," he sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets. "A little more than the usual type that is."

Charlie just watched her father, studying the tic in his jaw. She had been around him long enough to read his facial expressions. "Do you hate me?"

That finally got the man to look at her, eyes blown wide with shock. "What? Of course not," he spluttered. "Why would you ever think such a thing?"

"You take sixty years to come visit me and you won't even look at me. Did a future version of myself fight with you?" she pressed. "Or maybe I did something terrible. You're going to have to tell me. You know I have abandonment issues."

He pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back. "Nothing you could do would ever make me hate you Charlotte. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. It's something that I've done, not you."

"What did you do?" She pulled away to look at him. His jaw twitched again before sighing.

"I can't tell you. Not yet," he said, giving her a weak smile. "But I do have something that I'd like to give you."

"I'm up for presents," she said with a grin. "What's the occasion though?"

"Can't a father give his daughter a gift without a reason?" he countered, handing her a box.

She turned it over in her hands before opening it carefully. She gave a tiny gasp when she saw the contents and looked to her father in disbelief. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yes!" he grinned, loving how excited his daughter was getting.  _His_  daughter. "Your very own sonic screwdriver. I made sure it glowed purple, just for you."

"I love it!" she exclaimed, knocking the breath out of her father with a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He chuckled, returning the hug. "Your welcome love." He had to be sure that he made the right decision.

He had to.

**. . .**

"I'll see you soon, alright? And study for that physics test, alright?!" the Doctor called after his daughter's retreating figure. The only indication he got that she heard was a wave. He shook his head, chuckling to himself as he shut the door. That girl was going to drive him crazy.

"Who would have thought I would have a daughter, huh old girl?" he said, shoulders shaking as he laughed. "A teenage one at that! Thank the stars she isn't dating yet."

He put the TARDIS in flight, no particular destination in mind. The Doctor had honestly forgotten how satisfying it was to raise a child. Sure, he wasn't there to  _raise_ her, but he was making up for that in a way. He was allowing her to blossom, to become who she really was.

It made his heart swell with pride when they had gone to 19th century California and Charlie had yelled and dived into fighting the Skaratid to protect that little boy, to stop him from being eaten. She was so brave. And that's what terrified him.

She had jumped headfirst into the situation without caring about her own safety. He made sure to talk to her about it afterwards, but she had just brushed it off. The Doctor was proud of the woman his daughter was becoming, but terrified that he didn't get to protect his little girl.

"Whoa!" The TARDIS landed with a 'thump' jolting the entire ship. "What's with you today old girl?" he muttered, checking the monitor for information where they had landed this time. "It's always England with you, isn't it?" he chuckled, hesitating for a moment before grabbing his jacket. He might as well take a look around while he was here.

It was fall if the multicolored leaves were anything to go by. There was a chill in the air, making him pull his coat tighter around himself. He was near a school, but it seemed to be over for the day. There was no kids running around or playing in the park.

He was about to leave when he heard something. It seemed to be coming from the park.

"Ow!"

The Doctor didn't even pause to think, sprinting in the direction of the noise. Why was he doing that? He was met with the sight of a young girl, jumping to reach a pair of gloves that hung on the monkey bars, dangling limply in the wind.

"Do you need some help?" he asked, kneeling down a few steps away from her so he was on the same level as her. The girl turned, almost shrinking into the hood of her too-big hoodie. She hesitated before nodding quickly.

The Doctor reached up and grabbed the mittens, holding them out to the girl. "Here you go," he said with a smile. She snatched them out of his hands, stuffing them onto her own. "How did they get up there?"

"Some boys took them," she said, watching him cautiously. "They're meanies."

"It sounds like they are," he agreed, trying hard to keep the frown off of his face. The last thing he wanted to do was make the girl think he was mad at her. "Why are you still here?"

The girl kicked at the pavement, shrugging. "Mommy isn't here yet. Sometimes she forgets."

His hearts ached for the girl. "Do you want to see a magic trick?" he asked, attempting to cheer the girl up.

"Yes please!"

The Doctor waved a hand behind her ear, procuring a piece of candy, which he gave her. "I hope you don't mind lemon drops."

"Thank you," she grinned, showing off her two missing teeth. She tucked the candy in her pocket, glancing over his shoulder. "My mommy's here now," she said skipping to her mother. Her hood managed to fall on the way there, revealing wild blonde curls.

She stopped for a moment, as if she forgot something. "Bye bye!" she said, turning around to wave at him before running to her mother. The Doctor didn't wave back, to overwhelmed with shock to lift his hand.

He had just spoken to his daughter as a child. Five-years-old if his guess was correct.

The Doctor ran to the TARDIS and slammed the door. He set the ship to auto-pilot before sinking down to sit on the floor. That was the life that he left his daughter to. One of waiting for absent parents and having gloves stolen.

What kind of father was he?

**. . .**

"You are so totally whipped," Charlie smirked, slipping through a magazine as he struggled to choose an outfit for his date.

"I am not," he scoffed, tossing the shirt on the floor before lifting another. "Do you think she'll like this one?" he asked, turning to his daughter. She sighed and closed the magazine, taking the shirt from him. She threw it away without a second thought and picked out another one.

"There. Those pants, that shirt, and wear the purple bowtie," Charlie said, putting the clothes on his bed. "Do you need anything else?"

"No. Thank you," he said with a smile. She smiled back before leaving, probably to the library.

This had become a routine on his date nights with River. He would go crazy trying to find an outfit, Charlie would waltz in and choose the perfect one, then she would give him advice for his date before heading off to the library to give him some privacy for when he grabbed River.

He found himself falling in love with River more each time they went out together. At first he felt like he had to do it out of duty to the ne that had died for him in the library, but that thought had fled his mind quickly a few minutes into their first date. He was falling fast for that woman.

"Hurry up before you're late!" Charlie shouted, banging on his door. "You don't have a lot of time Dad."

"I'll be out in a moment. Fly the old girl for me, will you?" he shouted back. A squeal and fleeing footsteps were his only reply. He chuckled softly at his daughter's excitement. While he loved River with both his hearts, Charlie was the most precious thing in his life. He dearly hoped that River was her mother, but the chances were slim.

He didn't have much time to think since they had landed and he was being rushed out the door by his teenage daughter. The next few minutes were a blur: seeing River, Charlie suddenly disappearing, flying off to a Beatles concert – for real this time. All he could remember was River standing there, waiting for him so they could go listen to the music on the other side of the doors.

"Ready for our date Ms. Song?" he asked, holding his arm for the woman. She smiled and took it, moving close to him.

"Of course. Lead the way Doctor."

**. . .**

"Hello again Ms. Song. Are you ready?" the Doctor asked, leaning against the TARDIS. The cell door was unlocked and River smirked, swinging it open.

"Of course. I actually wasn't expecting you today," she remarked, walking over to the TARDIS and giving it a gentle pat.

"Thought I'd surprise you for once dear," he said, giving her a quick kiss. "Now, I have the perfect restaurant picked out for supper. Care to join me?"

"As long as you turn off the breaks for once sweetie," she said, already heading into the ship.

"She sounds fine with them on!"

The Doctor tried sounding cross as he entered the ship but couldn't help smiling. His daughter was right; he was completely in love with the wonderful woman that is River Song. And in the end he let her down at the Library, watching her die so that he didn't have to. He should have done something more to protect her. But he failed, just like he would fail his daughter, his friends, and everyone else he had ever met.

River frowned slightly, walking over to the man. She put a hand on his arm, snapping him out of his thoughts. "What's wrong sweetie? You have that face on again."

"What face? This is my face," the Doctor replied, trying to sound upbeat. The last thing he wanted to do was make her worry.

"Your brows are furrowed, your mouth is doing the half-frown thing and your eyes got distant," she said quietly, brushing her hand across each feature gently. "The sad faraway look you get. Tell me, maybe I can help."

He just smiled, shaking his head and kissing her hand. "It's nothing to worry about, I promise. Now, I owe you a date," he grinned, walking over to the console, twirling around it. "I swear, this place has the best food you've ever tasted."

"Sounds like you like this place more than me," she teased, earning a laugh from the Time lord.

"Never. Now come on!"

He grabbed her hand as soon as the ship landed and flung the door open. "I may have come to the wrong place," he mumbled, noticing that they were parked at the bottom of a cliff. Of course the TARDIS had to do this to him now, when he was trying to impress his girlfriend.

"Why don't we do a bit of exploring before dinner?" River suggested, noticing the disappointed look on her boyfriend's face. She led him out of the TARDIS.

It took five minutes for them to be captured by two men with spears.

"Okay, so tell me you have a plan," River whispered, glancing at her husband. They both had their arms up while the men kept their spears trained on their backs.

"Hey? Why do I have to have a plan? You could have a plan. I chose the restaurant," he argued, turning to his girlfriend.

"Yes, and accidentally took us to the planet of the Rain Gods, where we are now being sacrificed," River said, giving a pointed look at the man. "Plan!"

He thought for a moment, glancing around to see if there was anything he could use to save them. Nothing.  **"** Okay. The plan is we need to distract them with something before they actually sacrifice us to the Rain Gods. Then when they're distracted, we run away."

"That's not a plan, that's just hoping," River sighed, shaking her head.

"Hey it's a start," he pointed out, turning his head upwards to sniff at the air. "Can you smell something?"

"Why are they sacrificing us to the Rain Gods, anyway?" she asked, not listening to the man.

"Appeases their wrath. Apparently it's very good for the crops, you know, sacrificing. There is actually some scientific evidence –" the Doctor started, getting enthusiastic. He completely missed the look River was giving him.

"Oh, so you're in favour of being burnt alive now?" River asked, exasperated with the man. "Seriously Doctor."

"Just looking on the bright side, dear," he said, glancing back at the sky once more. If he was right, there may be a chance that they could get out alive.

"Huh! Ha, ha! And there it is, Oi!" the Doctor grinned as thunder boomed. He looked at the sky and yelled. "If there are any Rain Gods out there, you're rubbish! Strike me dead if I'm wrong!"

River glanced at him like he had lost his mind. "What are you doing?"

"Smelling the ozone, dear," he smiled, just as thunder boomed once more. "Get down," he said, pulling her into a crouch with him. It was just in time, since lighting seemed to strike near their captors.

The two laughed together. The Doctor pulled an umbrella out of his pocket as it began to rain.

"Hey! River, Run," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek before turning to the men behind them. "Run away! I think the Rain Gods are going to do that again, you know."

The couple ran back to the TARDIS before the men could stand up again. They were cackling the whole way there, thanking their good luck.

"So that was your plan?" River asked, drying her hair with a towel once they were safe inside the ship.

"Well it worked didn't it?"

"Basically you hoped for lightning," she summed up again, glancing over to the man. "Pure luck."

"And here we are," he grinned, taking his eyes off the console to appreciate how lovely the woman looked even when she was wringing out her hair.

"We should be burning at the stake right now," she mused, unaware of his staring. "It's lucky for you you're pretty."

"You were in no danger. I knew something would come up," he assured her, waving his hand.

"No you didn't."

"I did! I promise I did."

**. . .**

Morning – or something like it – came and the Doctor was very comfortable snuggled up to his girlfriend. So much so that he didn't hear footsteps approaching his door. He didn't even hear the door creak open.

"I didn't expect you to – OHMYGODSORRY!" The door slammed shut and the Doctor was wide awake now.

That was his daughter. She had –

Crap.

River squirmed beside him, waking up. "Who was that?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. So this River didn't know about his daughter. Probably not the best time to tell her.

"My companion," he replied. "My  _sixteen-year-old_ companion."

"Oh." There was a beat before she added "Crap."

"Yeah," he said, head buried in his hands.

"How did she even get here?"

"I put the TARDIS on autopilot. The old girl must have landed nearby," he groaned. Getting up, he pulled on the clothes scattered on the floor. "I better talk to her."

River hummed, getting up as well. "I'll take a shower, give you two some space," she said, giving him a kiss. He smiled before heading out to find his now – probably scarred for life – daughter.

He had been so careful every other time, he was bound to mess it up at some point. He found Charlotte curled up in a corner of the library, head on top of  _Go Set A Watchman_ they had grabbed on their last trip to 2020 Earth.

"Charlie?" he whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. She just shook her head.

"I need to rip out my eyes now."

"It wasn't that ba –"

"Don't continue that sentence," she said, glancing up at him. "Spend time with River, get me some breakfast, and we'll pretend this never happened. Deal?"

"Deal."

**. . .**

"Hello dear," the Doctor grinned, walking into River's cell at Stormcage. "Feel up for an adventure today? Or maybe just a quiet evening together?"

River didn't move from her spot on the bed, curled up around herself. She didn't even acknowledge he was there.

"River?"

He walked towards her, kneeling down and gently putting a hand on her back. He now noticed that the woman was crying. The Doctor tried to give her an awkward hug.

"What's wrong River?"

She turned to him and shook her head, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "You'll hate me."

"I could never hate you River. Ever," he whispered, placing a kiss on her temple. He adjusted them so that they were both sitting on the bed. He rubbed circles on her back, trying to calm her down.

"Promise?" she croaked, glancing up at him. He nodded.

"I promise. Cross my hearts," he joked, offering a small smile. "Now what's wrong dear?"

"I'm pregnant."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's where we'll stop for this week! Let me know what you think please! Also, let me know in a review if you do want a sequel since I am wrapping this story up soon.
> 
> Also, would anyone like to make some cover art for this? Please let me know in a PM if you would.


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